Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Pepé Jaramillo - South of the Border


Pepe Jaramillo (born José Jaramillo García; October 27, 1921, Lerdo - April 30, 2001, Andalucia) was a notable Mexican pianist, composer, arranger, and recording artist. He was most active in London as an EMI recording artist in the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Lerdo, Durango, he began his professional music career playing in night clubs in México City. Relocating to London in the late 1950s, his many recordings and world-wide concert appearances brought him international fame. He died in his sleep of anemia at his villa in Spain. (On the internet, his activity has often been confused with the Ecuadorean singer of the same name.)
 

source: Wikipedia


Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Louis Bregoli - Accordion a la Carte


Mr. Bregoli, died Saturday, March 6, 2994, in Boston [Massachusetts]
Medical Center, at the age of 81.
She mastered the instrument early in life. When he was 11 years old he
won a contest at Jordan Hall. More than 20 accordionists of all ages
competed, but Mr. Bregoli was judged the best of the lot. His picture
was published in the newspaper. The yellowed clipping shows a smiling
young man with sharply parted hair sporting a sardonic smile and an
Armonia accordion nearly as big as he was.
Louis E. Bregoli was an accordionist who could play almost anything,
but he didn't just play a tune, he was transformed by it.
"He was a very quiet, gentle man, who became another person entirely
when he strapped on his accordion," his daughter Laura A. Orlando of
Franklin said yesterday. "He'd brighten right up and get everybody
involved."
A resident of Braintree, he initially wanted to play the violin, but
his uncle, who owned Tosi Music Store and Sporting Goods Co. on
Hanover Street in Boston's North End, persuaded him to take up the
accordion because it was more popular.
"If he had played the violin, he would have been playing for the
symphony," his fellow accordionist, Mabel Biagini of Quincy, said
yesterday. "He was a perfectionist."
Mr. Bregoli served in the Army during World War II. Shortly after his
unit reached Rome, he was admitted to a semiprivate audience with the
pope. Once again, Mr. Bregoli's picture was published in the Globe,
this time in military garb accompanied by a picture of his mother
holding a photo of Pope Pius XII.
After the war, Mr. Bregoli resumed his musical career. Many of his
performances are recorded in a scrapbook he kept. He performed in the
Copley Plaza Hotel, the Hotel Touraine, and for more than 20 years he
entertained at Lombardo's Restaurant in East Boston. He was in the
band at Mama's Leone's Restaurant in Boston and spent summers at the
Flying Bridge in Falmouth. He performed with the Jimmy Stella
Orchestra and on the Italian Hour on Radio Station WJDA.
Tucked away in his scrapbook is an autographed picture of The Three
Stooges with whom he made a joint appearance in Boston.
Mr. Bregoli recorded three albums, "Accordion a la Carte," "Italian
Favorites," and "Accordion Favorites with Mabel Biagini." "He could
play anything," another daughter, Diane M. Wojtkiewicz of Orlando,
Fla., said yesterday. He specialized in Italian music, but he could
play whatever was appropriate.
Mr. Bregoli never traveled far from Boston so he could remain close to
his wife and the daughters he named after songs and the sons he named
after saints.
After a late night onstage, he was always willing to get up early and
drive his children to school. If one was sick, he wrote a note to the
teacher in painstakingly crafted capital letters.
Mr. Bregoli gave private lessons at Tosi Music and Sporting Goods Co.
and Charles Bean Music Co. in Quincy. He also taught in a studio in
the basement of his home. When he wasn't teaching, he was practicing.
And he never stopped working. He was preparing to play at Kelly's
Landing in Weymouth on St. Patrick's Day.