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| Squeeze This!: A Cultural History of the Accordion in America
ISBN: 9780252093852
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of Illinois Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Accordion -- United States -- History; Accordionists -- United States;
Beginning with the accordion's invention in Austria in 1828, Jacobson, an accordionist in her own right, traces the instrument's impact on early 20th-century America during its vaudeville era and its recent revival over the past two decades. Using meticulous research, Jacobson not only touches on how topics as diverse as immigration, movies, war, and feminism have influenced the accordion's popularity, but she also finds time to drop in countless little known pop culture nuggets about great accordionists like Guido Deiro, who was married to Mae West. Despite each chapter reading like a stand-alone academic paper, Jacobson, thanks to her straightforward prose and obvious passion for the accordion, does a good job of creating a coherent narrative that holds the work's various themes together and enlivens the more academic aspects. While this book, like the accordion, may not be for everyone, it certainly should be recognized as an achievement in musical and cultural research. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Marion Jacobson holds a Ph.D. in music and ethnomusicology from New York University. An accordionist herself, she has performed with klezmer bands and accordion bands, and in old-timey jam sessions, but her favorite spot for gigs is the New York City subway. |
