Azica – Julien Labro

The next accordion star: Julien Labro

May 14, 2014June 21, 2014
by julien

by Howard Reich
May 13, 2014

The accordion doesn’t get much respect in the United States – not since “The Lawrence Welk Show” and uncounted polka bands placed the instrument well outside the realm of chic.

Nevertheless, the glorious squeezebox holds a noble tradition in jazz, with artists such as Art Van Damme, Leon Sash, Guy Klucevsek, Richard Galliano and Astor Piazzolla (playing bandoneon) proving the instrument can convey lightning virtuosity and profound musicality as eloquently as any other.

The latest and most promising addition to this regal list is Julien Labro, whom Chicagoans have heard dispensing his wizardry in various club and concert halls but never quite the way he does in a surprisingly seductive new album, “From This Point Forward” (Azica). Playing with Chicago’s Spektral Quartet, which will celebrate the release with him Wednesday night at City Winery, Labro emerges as a triple threat: brilliant technician, poetic melodist and cunning arranger. Read the full article here.

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New CD “Piazzolla”!!

October 6, 2011November 23, 2011
by julien

Internationally acclaimed guitarist Jason Vieaux teams up with Bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro & A Far Cry chamber orchestra in these new arrangements of Astor Piazzolla masterpieces. Jason is well known for his Azica solo releases including J.S. Bach Vol. 1 and Images of Metheny (Jason’s arrangements of the music of Pat Metheny). Julien Labro has shown his versatility with jazz guitarist Frank Vignola on 100 Years of Django and the acclaimed jazz band Hot Club of Detroit. A Far Cry chamber orchestra, based in Boston, performs frequently in the greater Boston area as well as throughout the United States.

Listen to the MP3 excerpt from Verano Porteńo from the “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla, arr. Julien Labro

Verano Porteno (MP3 excerpt from “Piazzolla”)