Cafe Accordion Orchestra

The music heard in Parisian dancehalls, cafes, and bistros between the 1920s and 1950s is resurrected by Minnesota-based group Café Accordion Orchestra. Led by accordionist/vocalist Daniel Newton, the band performs a diverse mix of gypsy, Latin, and European dance music. While much of their repertoire is based on the French musette, a gypsy-influenced romantic dance music, the Café Accordion Orchestra incorporate elements of the waltz, valse-musette, java, swing-valse, foxtrot, paso doble, polka, bolero, and rhumba. Newton formed the Café Accordion Orchestra to perform on his 1993 solo album, Café Accordion. The recording sessions proved so enjoyable that the group remained together. Their three albums, Dancing on the Moon, On Holiday, and Café Christmas, were initially self-produced. Dancing on the Moon and On Holiday were released on the Orchard label in 2000.