Title: Masters of the Accordion Type: CD Label: Arc music Code: 1834 Release date: 2003 An outstanding album of accordion music from around the world, this single-disc compilation from ARC is perhaps even a rival to the much harder to find Planet Squeezebox on Ellipsis. The album centers to some degree on artists from the ARC roster, but there's a good deal of licensed material from small independent labels in the U.S. and Europe alike. The rounds begin with tango artist Hugo Diaz and a bit of nuevo tango before moving into a more subdued Macedonian piece and a work for the French diatonic accordion. Enrique Ugarte plays a nice tropical-sounding piece on a standard accordion. Mohsen Allaam (hailing from an earlier Hossam Ramzy album) adds in a piece for the Egyptian quarter tone with a nice darbukka beat, followed by a medley of Irish tunes and a medley of Bulgarian dance forms. The great Maria Kalaniemi contributes a jumping Finnish tune, and the well-known Renato Borghetti adds in a tango of sorts via Brazil. Vitaliy Bezrodnov makes the accordion hum with his dexterity and virtuosity, and Roberto Tombesi provides a piece on the diatonic with an aesthetic of the sea included. Niall Vallely provides another look at Irish tunes, and the album finishes on a bolero from Enrique Ugarte that has a bit of a haunting quality to it. Overall, it's a fine album of music on an instrument that in its various forms can evoke the full range of emotion and energy. Pick it up if you're a fan of world music in general. Titles   1. Inspiracio 2. Gajdarsko Oro 3. Marche Bretonne 4. Pacifico 5. Habibi Baladi, We Zay el Amar 6. An Buachaillin - Eibhlin Og The Dainty Dish Before the King 7. Suita 8. Orpolasten Polska 9. Milonga Para as Missoes 10.Yablichko 11.Adriatica 12.Cissie's - The Star of Munster 13.Bolero