Well nobody's perfect, I forgive him .

chas

Donny......are you sure they sold you an accordion? That looks more like a humidifier. Check to see if there's an on-off switch on it.

Mark, I think you hit the nail on its head. I agree with you that it is a whole art; one of the finest, I might add.
My former accordion teacher (Contino's cousin) a top notch Jazz organist/accordionist once said about Black musicians; they are either good or bad, nothing in between. I asked a mutual organist friend - a black minister who was once a Hollywood recording artist. He said, "Yea, it seems that way." This man is good, but I see so many other excellent musicians on Youtube.

Donny....the article says "At the same time (1932) in Mondaino came a new factory, which today is considered historically significant as it was one of the first cement-made factories ever built in Italy."

I'm thinking they had extra cement left over and they made that accordion with it!

Now for my serious side: My accordion is a minimum of 60 years old and I wouldn't give it up for 100 PA4x's. When I take it out, it stays in my sight at all times until I get home again. You cannot get an accordion made with that kind of craftsmanship anymore. Those old-time Italians who designed them so well and put the accordions together with quality parts back in those days were priceless. Similar to pianos, they don't make 'em anymore like they used to with a sound that had guts and beauty at the same time. If I lost mine, I'd be lost myself. I'm thinking of getting a safe deposit box at the bank and putting it in there when I'm not using it!

You should have taken that opportunity to tell him what a ridiculous statement that is. That is precisely how stereotypes are born. When it comes to music (and most things), Blacks are no different from any other group; there are good musicians, bad musicians and a whole lot in between. Perpetuating these myths serves no good purpose and only causes people to see groups other than their own in a different (and usually negative) light. I've heard the same kind of drivel (right here on THIS board) about Black athletes; that their success is the result of God-given talent', as though they just 'showed up' one day, fresh from the ghetto, donned a NFL jersey and ran for 200 yards. One does not become a world-class athlete without thousands of hours of work and tremendous personal sacrifice in order to hone their craft. This is true no matter the color of the athlete.

The problem with statements like that is that, in most cases, they sound innocent to the person saying (or repeating) them. Some even think they're complimentary. THEY'RE NOT. It's the bedrock that bigotry and prejudice is built upon. It's how we subtly brainwash our children and pass on these beliefs from generation to generation. I think it's way past time for it to stop.

Torch, I'm sure you didn't mean anything mean or malicious by referencing your teacher's comment....but that's PRECISELY my point. It's like the current political climate where we've learned to 'normalize' rude behavior, name-calling, and all the things we used to abhor. I'm not SUPER-sensitive but felt compelled to speak up here (for all the reasons I listed). I really hope you don't take this as a personal attack because it's not. I'm just trying to bring awareness to a situation that affects me personally.

chas

[/quote]
When I take it out, it stays in my sight at all times until I get home again. You cannot get an accordion made with that kind of craftsmanship anymore.[/quote]

That's how I am with my Petosa. It only gets used on specific gigs. Very heavy too...even sitting down.

Man, when I think about the accordion gigs 'back in the day' ... talk about heavy ... playing my Sano accordion with the double tone chamber, and then converting to Cordovox doing the same thing - STANDING while playing ... no wonder my back kills me today ...

PS ... obviously, this thread has gone SOUTH ... apologies to torch ... but perhaps we said everything there was to say about
The Best Rendition of Mary Had a Little Lamb ?

Tony, we're usually on the same page but I fail to see the relevancy of the above quote (which, first of all, is patently untrue....and therefore not worth repeating). Are you suggesting that I should apologize for MY post? If MY post is what you are referring to as 'going SOUTH', I have to respectfully disagree. My post was a RESPONSE to a comment that I found offensive, saw no need for, and felt that I had a right to say so (and explain why....in what I hoped was a respectful way). BUT, I just don't see why you think an apology to the OP is appropriate when it was HIS comment (however innocent) which started the trip SOUTH.

However, at the moment I'm more concerned about a good prognosis for DonM. That's a lot more hopeful than the possibility of changing social attitudes in these times. Sorry if my post made some people uncomfortable.

chas

chas ... WHOA, BIG FELLA !!! JEEZ !!! ... my reference to 'going south' was in regard to the the conversations about ACCORDIONS which had nothing to do with the OP ... and had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with your comments ...

In the future, if you are going to 'call me out' on something I would appreciate a PM or an e-mail, to find out what I was referring to, just in case you misinterpreted something I posted ...