Free Range Accordion

Guy Klucevsek released another excellent album in 2000, entitled Free Range Accordion. For most, his instrument, the accordion, is misunderstood and veiled in mystery. Guy Klucevsek seems very aware of the potential of listeners expecting clichéd polkas, et al. By dropping in a reference every now and again to such a piece, he is able to laugh at the situation. He then goes on playing, and one quickly realizes the palette of emotion from which he draws. Only three of the 11 pieces on this album were composed by Klucevsek. Named for the earliest type of medieval polyphonic music, his "Organum" develops so beautifully — it is entrancing and stately, without being pompous. He is smart enough to spice up the order with variety, alternating meditative droney pieces with wild, energetic ones. The track "Breath and Bone" finds this lively accordionist frenetically shouting, playing, and beating his accordion. The author of the piece, Jerome Kitzke, was influenced by beat poetry, and this is mirrored in Klucevsek's jazzy scat-singing. His shouts give the impression that he is a cowboy trying to tame the beastly accordion. After all, the cover of Free Range Accordion features him dressed up in Western clothing with a saddled accordion, presented on a plain somewhere. Most of these pieces, and Klucevsek's entire oeuvre, can be summed up in the word "dramatic." Whether in a tragic or comical sense, Klucevsek admits, in not so many words, to being drawn to composers who write pieces that get your attention through personal drama. Perhaps the most comical track on this album is "The Blob." Originally written by Burt Bacharach for a B-movie, this song features silly lyrics and noises. It is fodder for Halloween and children's shows, which Klucevsek has appeared on, such as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Though he has worked with the crème de la crème of avant-garde and modern composers and musicians, he remains humble enough to work with children.