King Of Jazz Accordion: Five Early Albums 1947-54

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. 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 “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