Gus Viseur
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Gus Viseur (Gustave-Joseph Viseur) (May 15, 1915 - 1974) was a famous French button accordionist.
[edit] Biography
Gus Viseur was a Musette accordionist. He began his career playing in the streets of Paris. He managed to get a great sound from a button-accordion. It was clear that he was doing something innovative: He helped create the accordion-jazz style known as manouche. Meeting Django Reinhardt and performing with the legendary Quintet of the Hot Club of France was an important new chapter in his life. Later he even played bebop in the fifties. He was the first to draw a link between Musette and Jazz, but he never forgot Musette. That was his main voice. There is an unbelievable strength in his playing, that gives him the ability to improvise in all those different music genres. In addition to his numerous recordings he also performed in cabarets and nightclubs. He even ended up playing in the band of "the little sparrow", Edith Piaf.
He has an amazing list of very fine compositions. Such as: Le Bal du P'tit Jardin, Jeannette, Swing Valse , Flambée Montalbanaise, 46ème Avenue, 5 Juin, El Victor, Lorsque Django Jouait ...
You can say that Viseur means a lot for the accordion even today. It is the instrument of the poor and that maybe is the best explanation for the richness of its sound.
Other accordionists from this genre: Tony Muréna, Medard Ferrero, El Ferrero, Jo Privat, Guerino and his orchestra ...
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[edit] References and further reading
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