America it’s rare for an accordionist to appear onstage with a full symphony orchestra. The opportunity presented itself Saturday, May 11, when Jay Landers shared the stage with the 60-piece Danville Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jeremy Swerling in Central Illinois.
“My Paris” is a one-hour symphonic concert piece arranged by the late Peter Matz, Grammy Award-winning arranger, producer and music director for television and motion picture projects. The work is based on the book of the same name by the legendary French entertainer Maurice Chevalier.
The script was written by Marna Petersen. Tony Sandler, of Belgian descent, was teamed with American Ralph Young from 1963 to 1987. Sandler & Young played top entertainment venues, appeared on all of TV’s top variety shows, and headlined in Las Vegas for nearly two decades. Since 1987 Sandler has been a solo act, and in the 1990’s he toured with his one man show “Chevalier, Maurice & Me”, as well as this symphony pop production entitled “My Paris”. Tony Sandler, singer and raconteur, celebrates his 80th birthday later this year.
The venue for the concert was the magnificent auditorium of Danville high School. This portion of the complex dates from 1924. Named the “Dick Van Dyke Auditorium”, it honors the 1944 alumnus who’s had such an illustrious career in television and motion pictures. His brother Jerry graduated in 1951. Academy-award winning actor Gene Hackman was in the Class of 1949. The late cabaret pianist Bobby Short also graduated from there along with many others who have excelled on many different career paths.
“My Paris” creates a unique opportunity for the accordion and the player. There are some 20 sections to the piece and the accordion is scored in more than half of them. The accordion, to be sure, is there for the “French Flavor”, and the musette register is primarily used. Landers plays an Excelsior 960 with LMMMH sets of reeds in the treble. The middle reeds are tuned about 5 cents. A single mic on a floor stand was positioned over the treble grille of the instrument. The score is primarily for right-hand only, although there is a segment of narrative where the accordion is mostly solo background in “Under Paris Skies”. There’s a left-hand complement in this two-page section.
Jay commented, “I’ve had the opportunity to play in pit orchestras over the years for musical theatre productions of ‘Cabaret’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and others. This is the first time I’ve found myself onstage with a full symphony orchestra playing from a score written for the accordion. It was exhilarating. My family and friends said the audio mix was superb and the accordion came through clean and strong. The orchestra was electrifying!”
The accordion’s placement was a surprise to Landers. Usually, the orchestra piano and any other keyboard would be placed to the rear with the percussion. However, in “My Paris” the pianist is foremost among the other musicians and plays solos, and is situated directly in front of the conductor in the center of the orchestra. The accordion was placed in the curved well of the piano. This additional visual exposure for the accordion to the audience was unexpected and much appreciated. Landers also provided music in the lobby for patrons prior to the concert.
The accordion wasn’t scored for some of Chevalier’s more famous songs such as “Louise” and “Gigi” (the motion picture for which he won the Academy Award at age 69). However, it was given the opportunity to be an able partner with the orchestra including “Paris Canaille” (roughly “The Rakish Air of Paris”), “April in Paris”, “I Love Paris”, “Mon Plus Vieux Copain” (“My Oldest Friend”, a beautiful waltz), “La Seine”, “Speak to Me of Love” and “La Vie En Rose”.
Jay Landers has played the piano accordion continuously since 1958. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he and his family reside in Springfield, IL. He can be reached at jllanders5214@msn.com .
