This was my 4th time at the Frank Marocco Accordion Event,(FMAE) which took place from January 13-17 at the Dobson Ranch Inn in Mesa Arizona. A week of intense rehearsal culminated in a sold out concert on Sunday night. This year marked the Maestro’s 80th birthday. All of us feel a real connection to the man who has successfully shown all that the accordion is capable of doing. He’s made a lasting impression on this participant, but he’s also, through his immense skill and personal warmth, made a lasting impression on a group of people we’ve been trying to reach out to for a long, long time.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the American Accordionists’ Association, I’ve been engaged in many a conversation about how to draw young people to the instrument. Those of us who grew up in the heyday of the accordion played it because it was seeped in ethnic tradition, and we left it to mark a separation from our families of origin. The dawn of rock ‘n roll, the influence of the Beatles and other rock artists effectively sent many accordions and accordionists into the closet.

It’s beginning to enjoy a slow resurgence. But what is it that’s drawing the young ones to our beloved instrument???

I had the pleasure of interviewing 3 young musicians at the FMAE, who are clearly hooked on the accordion, thanks to Frank Marocco. What’s the draw? How were they hooked? What’s The Journey like? These were the questions I asked of Sean Brogan, Austen Mack and Gabe Hall-Rodrigues, bass player, drummer and jazz accordionist, respectively, for the Frank Marocco Accordion Event. All 3 of these highly talented musicians are in their early 20’s. All are skilled on several instruments. All are graduates of Arizona State University’s music program.

Prior to being invited to play bass for the FMAE orchestra several years ago, Sean Brogan’s only references to the accordion were Disney movies (specifically Lady and the Tramp), Weird Al, and polka music in general. His first reaction to the invitation to perform with Frank brought questions: “An accordion orchestra? Really? Do they make arrangements for accordion orchestras?” He immediately researched Frank Marocco, and was surprised to see that this jazz accordionist was “the real deal.” His friends had the same initial reaction when he told them he was playing for Frank’s event, and soon their responses followed suit. Watching Sean listen to Frank playing, I saw pure bliss: eyes closed, head swaying to the impeccable jazz sound and rhythm that flowed from Frank’s heart into the instrument.

Austen Mack stood in for percussionist Wes Anderson this year. Wes was recruited from the local community college to play for the FMAE in 2007, and was instrumental in bringing Sean into the fold as well. Wes was on his honeymoon for the 2011 event, so Austen was recommended by Wes. Austen, a jazz major who also played violin, guitar and keyboard, grew up with instruments in every room and all kinds of music in his home, primarily jazz. But his heart is in drumming. He’s no stranger to the accordion, as his father was a player. He describes his dad as technically accomplished, but forced into playing the accordion. The elder Mack abandoned the accordion for jazz guitar and keyboard. While Austen wasn’t as spoiled by stereotypes of the accordion, he was nonetheless blown away by the level of playing he heard at the FMAE. He, like many young people these days who are intrigued by the instrument, sees its versatility, tonal options and capacity for fitting into various forms of music, along with other instruments, like horns for example.

And finally, there’s Gabe Hall-Rodrigues. Lured to an FMAE concert in 2009 by his friend, Wes, he describes himself first and foremost as a vocalist. And this young man can sing! His growing up years were filled with song. He started on piano at age 7, and went on to learn guitar. His dad is Brazilian, so he’s also no stranger to the accordion, having heard it growing up.

At first, he wasn’t too keen on the idea of coming to an accordion concert. But once hearing the FMAE orchestra, and Frank, he was mesmerized, and caught the bug. He obtained an accordion from an Arizona Accordion Club member and started playing. He joined the FMAE orchestra in 2010, personally invited by Frank Marocco, started lessons with a new Petosa accordion acquired via the kindness of Frank Petrilli (Marocco’s student), started lessons with Ilmar Kuljus….. and went on to win the 2010 Virtuoso Solo Championship title at the AAA Festival in Hershey, PA!! He just obtained a degree in Music Therapy. Learning to play the accordion taught him “what it’s like to do hard work,” having practiced and learned a lot in such a short period of time.

All three young men reveal music backgrounds that created a kind of openness to all kinds of music. Two of them were exposed to the accordion at an early age, but never encouraged to play it. But most importantly, they cite the same desire that youth have today to be different from the usual musician playing the “usual” instruments like piano, guitar or violin. And all three of these young men show extraordinary musical talent, jazzing it up as a trio to the delight of the FMAE orchestra.

While I’m old enough to remember how the accordion was pushed aside with the onset of Beatlemania, I’m very glad that I’m still young enough to see our instrument begin to nudge its way past the guitar as it gains in popularity with a new breed of youth who show an openness and a desire to be musically different from the norm. I believe that’s where the road to reaching youth is leading us. We all wanted to express our individuality by being different from our parents. Today’s youth want to be different from THEIRS. And they learn from events like the FMAE that the accordion is meant to play many different kinds of music, and that in the arms of skilled musicians like Marocco, it can sound really, really GOOD.

Sean summed it up when, I believe, he spoke for all three of these young musicians: “The instrument alone does not determine the value of the musician. Accordionists are HIP!”