On Sunday, October 24, 2021 from 2 – 3:PM via Zoom, the Brooklyn Accordion Club will present a conversation with author Dr. Marion Jacobson of “Squeeze This!: A Cultural History of the Accordion in America”. She will be interviewed by Dean Olshur, podcaster and BAC member.

Dr. Marion Jacobson brings attention to the accordion with her book, “Squeeze This, A Cultural History of the Accordion in America”. The University of Illinois Press calls it: “Everything you wanted to know about piano accordions in America–but were afraid to ask.”

Dr. Jacobson is an ethnomusicologist, educator, and author who has written hundreds of reviews and features of live concerts and events of all the major world music traditions. Dr. Jacobson earned her PhD in music from New York University and has taught at NYU, SUNY New Paltz, and the City University of New York. She began digging for the fossilized remains of lost American accordion cultures in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Squeeze This! A Cultural History of the Accordion (University of Illinois Press, 2012/2015) is the first comprehensive scholarly book on the piano accordion, and winner of the Society for Ethnomusicology’s Klaus P. Wachsmann Prize for Outstanding Monographs in Organology (the historical study of musical instruments).

Marion has been a guest on WNYC’s Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), the Bob Herbert Show on XM/Sirius Radio, and has given book talks at the Library of Congress, the College of New Jersey, and most of the major accordion festivals. She was the first staff folklorist at ArtsWestchester, staff folklorist at Staten Island Arts, and consulting folklorist for Brooklyn Arts Council, the Bronx Council on the Arts, and Long Island traditions. She lives in West Orange, New Jersey with her husband, two teenagers, three accordions and a bunch of other noisy world instruments. 

Marion has sparked great interest in and brought much attention to the accordion with her book. Whether you agree or disagree with her thoughts or are reading it to learn about the accordion, it makes us all think about the accordion, how it has influenced our culture, our lives, and how it is part of a new generation of musicians who realize and greatly appreciate its value in the world of music.

Dean Olshur shares, “I write words and music. I play instruments, mostly the accordion. For much of my life I’ve made my living talking and writing about music on the radio and in print. I wrote a book that was ostensibly about crossword puzzles, but really it is about music and the mind. When I’m not playing on the street or a park I work as a music therapist.

For further information: jerseyfolkarts@gmail.com