Herbie Marks

[boxplayer4000]

I don't recall Herbie Marks the Australian accordionist featuring on the forum. (I can't seem to bring up the name in a 'search'.)
With time to spare I listened to him again on a recording from 1961 called 'The Magic Accordion of Herbie Marks'.
It doesn't get much better and his left hand work is just outstanding.
This is one track from that recording:-

HerbieMarks.wav

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[wirralaccordion]

I bought that very record just before March 2020 lockdown. I'll have another listen but I wasn't too wrapped at the time. I think the addition of rythmn is a spoiler, I prefer solo accordion.

 

[boxplayer4000]

Thanks for responding Wirralaccordion.
One of my hobbies is creating CDs from old records (78s, 45s 33s or tapes). I know I'm behind the curve in that CDs themselves are all but extinct. However once they're digitised they can be stored a few different ways.
There's some excellent software for removing noise/rumble, needle noise etc. improving clarity, stereo spacing, reverb etc.
One advantage of a CD is that an insert booklet can created from the LP sleeve to go with it. The pleasure of many iconic records and LPs was the sleeve artwork (The Beatles on the Abbey Road pedestrian crossing being one prime example).

 

[Dingo40]

Boxplayer,
Thanks so much for sharing Herbie Marks' interpretation of La Cucaracha with us: loved it!

 

[Dingo40]

Boxplayer,
I googled "Herbie Marks accordion"
and got several hits, including this one:

Herbie Marks

Herbie Marks Discography at Discogs

www.discogs.com

And this one, which has sound clips of his work:

Herbie Marks | SecondHandSongs

Herbie Marks covered Just a Little Lovin', Baby Elephant Walk, Honky-Tonk Train Blues, Wipe Out and other songs. Herbie Marks originally did Just a Little Lovin', Honky-Tonk Train Blues, Wipe Out, Chatanooga Choo-Choo and other songs.

secondhandsongs.com

I like it!
There's a bit more about him here ( including a photo of his house and distinctive front gates)!
You will need to scroll down.

The Last Boogie Woogie | Sydney Review of Books

I once spent about a hundred million hours poring over old issues of Australian music magazines of the 1940s and 50s.

sydneyreviewofbooks.com

Also, google "The Herbie Marks Trio"!
Thanks for the pointer, Boxplayer!

 

[boxplayer4000]

Dingo40:-
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the links. It's surprising to me that he's not better known. He should be. He visited the UK in the 50s I think. I wasn't aware of him then but he certainly left his mark with the accordion fraternity. He made a lot of recordings with a truly international flavour but, while I would like more I only have only one of his LPs (now digitised, cleaned and on file and CD) called 'The Magic Accordion of Herbie Marks'.

 

[Dingo40]

Boxplayer,
There actually are several more of his recordings on one of the links, above .
Happy listening

 

[Dingo40]

Boxplayer,
Check this out :
Unfortunately, it does remind you of a Benny Hill episode somewhat !

 

[Dingo40]

These have better sound quality and are minus the corny visuals
There are at least 12+ tracks
( Click on logo top left corner!)
He certainly can play!
There are several listings of his recordings on eBay.

 

[boxplayer4000]

Thanks again Dingo40
The only LP/CD I have of the master is 'The Magic Accordion of Herbie Marks'.
There's a lot more of his recordings I would be interested in but what is available 'online', including 'Spotify', seem to concentrate on 'The Magic Accordion' one.
I'd be willing to share/exchange.

 

[Dingo40]

Boxplayer,
I hadn't heard of Herbie Marks before you brought him up and don't have any of his records.
I did, however, come across this article by him, which sounds like it could have been written today!

History (Herbie Marks)

 

[boxplayer4000]

Thanks again Dingo40.
The 'History(Herbie Marks) discussion is as relevant today as it was when it was written. I knew one accomplished pianist who played in the Scottish scene, who was also a piano tuner at the high end of the market, but complained bitterly about the musette tuned accordions which were out of tune to his ear.
I'm probably most familiar with the Scottish scene and the since fiddles are prominent the 'clash' of those and wide musette tunings is well known to a greater or less degree. The problem was largely overcome, for many people, in one group where the accordion was a Gola with slightly less aggressive musette.
The origin of 'musette' is interesting. I was aware that 'musette' referred to some sort of bagpipe in France but since the bagpipes I know here in Scotland are 'straight tuned' did the ones in France have reeds off-tuned to achieve some sort of tremolo?

 

[Pipemajor]

Great Highland Bagpipes today are in fact "straight tuned", mainly because we now use drone reeds which are made from synthetic materials instead of cane. Cane reeds vary in pitch with temperature, humidity, and any other factor that you can think of and are notoriously difficult to keep in tune, whereas modern materials such as carbon fibre will remain stable in varying conditions.
Because of this, although you tuned your chanter and drones to start with, by the time you had played for a while, the reeds would have absorbed moisture and altered pitch. As you can't retune while playing, you would get an out of tune sound which accounts for the "Musette" sound of the French Cabrettes and Binious.
I did read some time ago that, in olden times, the Scots pipers would deliberately set their drones out of tune when going into battle to further intimidate the (English) enemy