The Art Van Damme Quartet – The King Of Jazz Accordion – Five Early Albums – 1947-54 – 2CD

Art Van Damme was one of those very rare animals – a jazz accordionist, and he became undoubtedly the most prominent exponent of his instrument in the history of the genre. 

Born in Michigan in 1920, he took up the accordion when he was nine, and studied classically after his family moved to Chicago in 1934. 

He started recording in the mid-1940s around the time he started working for NBC radio, and while his style and sound was compared to Benny Goodman’s clarinet technique, his early albums were very much in the style that was called “cocktail jazz”, and none the less entertaining for that. 

This 56-track 2-CD collection comprises all the tracks from five of his first six albums – the 10” LP “Cocktail Capers” and the 12” LP “More Cocktail Capers” for Capitol, and the 12” albums for “Martini Time”, “The Van Damme Sound” and “Manhattan Time” on Columbia. 

He almost invariably performed in a quintet format, the personnel generally featuring Charles Calzaretta (vibes), Claude Schneider or Fred Rundquist (guitar), Lew Skalinder (bass) and Max Mariash (drums). 

He was an absolute master of his instrument, and his arrangements of the many Great American Songbook standards included here, plus a number of original compositions, make for enlightening, fascinating and entertaining listening. 

Track Listing:

CD1:
From The 10” Album “Cocktail Capers”:  1. Dark Eyes -  2. I've Got You Under My Skin -   3. Meadowland -   4. If I Had You -   5. I Know That You Know -   6. The Breeze And I -   7. Lover -   8. The Man I Love -   From The 12” Album “More Cocktail Capers”    9. I Want To Be Happy -   10. Pavanne -   11. Rachel's Dream -    12. Should I -   13. Fine And Dandy -   14. Perdido -   15. Habanera -   16. Linger Awhile -   17. This Can't Be Love -   18. Limehouse Blues -   19. The Touch Of Your Lips -   20. Hawaiian War Chant (Tu-Hu-Wa-Hu-Wai) -    From The 12” Album “The Van Damme Sound”:   21. Carioca -   22. I'll Remember April -    23. Lullaby Of Broadway -   24. Early Autumn -   25. Ol' Man River -   26. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue -   27. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart -   28. Thou Swell -  

CD2:
From The 12” Album “The Van Damme Sound”: 1. Deep Night -   2. Let's Fall In Love -   3. Don't Worry 'Bout Me -   4. Tea For Two -   From The 12” Album “Martini Time”:   5. Adiós -   6. Blue Lou -   7. Cheek To Cheek -   8. Let Yourself Down -   9. If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) -  10. I Didn't Know What Time It Was -   11. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top -   12. Madame Van Damme -   13. My Kinda Love -   14. I Hear Music -   15. Tenderly -   16. It's Easy To Remember -   From The 12” Album “Manhattan Time”:   17. Stella By Starlight -   18. Lover Come Back To Me -   19. I Saw Stars -   20. Oh, Look At Me Now -   21. It's The Talk Of The Town -   22. Temptation Rag -   23. The Song Is You -   24. Turnabout -   25. Polka Dots And Moonbeams -   26. Poinciana -    27. The Glory Of Love -    28. Hallelujah -