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Artist Spotlight: James Carlson 

A:   I started playing piano when I was 10 and started other instruments and singing in middle and high school. I started taking music seriously when I was about 14. I started improvising at the piano and began writing music around this time. Music just came to me naturally and I knew early on I wanted to pursue a career in it. At this time (the mid 80s), the accordion was not on my radar, except to maybe to mock a bit. My love for the instrument came a lot later. I kept going with music in high school and college focusing on composition and concert music. My plan was to stay in school as long as I could and then teach at the university and continue my composition activities while teaching. I basically did that until recently.

Q:   Originally from Everett, WA you now live in Prague with your wife and music partner Lucie, How did you end up in Prague? What does the accordion scene in Prague look like?  

A:   Short answer is my wife Lucie is from Prague so we moved to be closer to her family. I had lived in Boston, Durham, NC and Phoenix before settling in Tennessee where I taught at the University of the South for 14 years. We actually met in Knoxville, got married and had two kids. Lucie is a violinist who had played in orchestras in the US and Prague, performed solo recitals and wrote music too. In the summer of 2008, I picked up a small cheap red accordion and we decided to play together one day. The sound of our two instruments combined really surprised us. We started performing together and even playing on the streets of Prague during our summer visits there. We both enjoyed being outside the concert hall and making our music more our own. It was also more interactive with audience. I was getting tired of the concert music scene and the drudgery of score preparation, so I was ready for a new adventure. Our new duo was part of that and then moving to Prague was the beginning of the next chapter!

Q: You just released your 5th CD with Cricket & Snail titled "Points on the Map of Heaven" It's an eclectic mix of genres, I hear French, Klezmer, Celtic among others, what was your inspiration for the record? 

A: Unlike our previous four mostly annual releases, this CD has been five years in the making. Family life and the move to Prague slowed things down. We always mix up genres. We just play what we like and that’s how it comes out. We also like music that has heart and atmosphere, so that often leads us to our pieces. The title is from an original song of mine. I was inspired by my readings about near-death experiences and about how these glimpses of heaven were so universal and unconditional. I was also thinking about how music can lift us out of depressive states, toward more spiritual things. So, I see songs as being like points on a map that can guide us through our lives.

Q:  You compose a lot of music for multi-media productions including dance and scoring for film, is there anything that you're currently working on? Do you have a favorite type of collaboration? 

A:I have really loved doing collaborations over the years! You get a feeling of purpose and connection with collaborators and your audience. I don’t have anything going on right now, but I am considering starting a new silent film project for Cricket and Snail. In 2013, I composed a soundtrack for Jean Renoir’s “Little Match Stick Girl” (1928), which is based on the Hans Christian Anderson story. We play the music live and perform that regularly. It would be nice to have another to program together with it.

Q:   What is your process for composing music? Do you write on the accordion? 

A:   Lately, I’ve been composing on accordion more and more.  I let a tune develop slowly over time, chewing on it for some time before I finalize it. My music has gotten simpler over the years, and it is more about performance, spirit and mood, than complexity.
 
Q:   Who are your top 5 accordionists you admire or recommend we listen to?

A:   I am friends with a very talented accordionist here in Prague, Kieren Alexander. He is originally from Australia, but has been an expat for some time. He plays in the amazingly fun Balkan Free Quintet. They are releasing a new album, “Parvo,” soon. He also plays balfolk, jazz and Scandinavian music in a duo with flutist Žofie Kašparová. I’ve always admired the projects of Rob Reich in San Francisco. They include an interesting mix of circus, swing and classical music. I’ve recently discovered a talented Norwegian-Irish group called the Snowflake Trio that features accordionist Frode Haltli. Other interesting composer-accordionists I follow include Tuulikki Bartosik in Estonia and Johanna Juhola who plays modern tango-inspired music in Finland

Q:   What’s the best advice you have received about playing music/ the accordion?

A:  Coming to the accordion late in life, I did not have a lot of formal training. I learned the most by carefully watching players I thought were good. As a pianist, I had to shake off the gravity motion of piano playing and use a more feathery touch on the right hand. The rest happened after hours of mindful playing. In the end, I think the best music making happens when we are no longer just reading and playing notes, but we go beyond the mechanics and everything becomes one with the other musicians we are playing with and the listeners.  

Q:   Anything else you'd like our readers to know?

A:  While we live in Prague, we often spend 3-4 weeks in the Seattle area in the summer visiting my family.

Featured Certified Pre-owned:
Diamond 'Chamber'

Full featured Diamond in very nice condition. Equipped with 3 reeds, tone chamber (LM) and grille mute, this is a versatile instrument.

18 1/2″ keyboard (46.9 cm)
41 treble keys – 120 basses 
7+M treble, 5 bass registers
3/5 sets T.a.M. reeds
Tuning: LMM+15
Sliding grille mute
Dynamic stereo amplification
24.5 lbs (11.1kg)