Kim Darwin
Accordion Nights
© 2004 ©Kim Darwin 2004
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
Accordion virtuoso and composer Kim Darwin presents a vibrant new sound for today's accordion. His rich expressive music contains compelling melodies, adventurous harmonies and searching improvisations. An engaging mix of Tango, Musette Waltzes and Jazz.
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
Recommended if you like ...
links
notes
ACCORDION NIGHTS FEATURES:
Kim Darwin on solo accordion
The Kim Darwin Trio:
Paul Blaney - bass, Kim Darwin - accordion
Vince Ricci - drums
Duo Tango:
David Brown - bass, Kim Darwin - accordion
Jaiya:
Miranda Brown - drums and vocals,
Kim Darwin - accordion, Lael Whitehead - drums and vocals
ABOUT THE MUSIC
1. Night is the Time for Lies
Duo Tango: David Brown - acoustic bass,
Kim Darwin - accordion
A moody melody with a latin feel.
2. Waltz for Geneviève
Solo accordion
A fast waltz named for one of my lovely nieces.
3. Time's End
Kim Darwin Trio: Paul Blaney - acoustic bass,
Kim Darwin - accordion, Vince Ricci - drums
I wrote this piece after hearing of Bill Evan's death.
4. The Stranger's Story
Duo Tango
From my Tango song-cycle, The Night of the Stranger, written some years back.
5. The Night of the Stranger
Solo accordion
I have returned again and again to this piece, the title song to my Tango song cycle.
6. Mirsette
Kim Darwin Trio
A Jazz Musette named after my wife, Miranda.
7. Gypsy Moon
Duo Tango
Moonlight filters through trees, illuminating a group of Gypsies dancing in the forest.
8. Middle Class Dance
Solo accordion
Why should peasants have all the good dances?
9. Badlands
Kim Darwin Trio
Inspired by the intense energies of the Badlands of South Dakota.
10. Waltz for Véronique
Solo accordion
A waltz named after my other lovely niece.
11. Northern Prayer
Jaiya: Miranda Brown - drum and vocals, Kim Darwin - accordion,
Lael Whitehead - drum and vocals
We created this soundscape while thinking of our friend Bill Wheaton, who recently passed away. He spent much of his life in the far north of Canada, and loved the people there.
All pieces written by Kim Darwin (SOCAN)
Vocal arrangements on Northern Prayer by Miranda Brown and Lael Whitehead
ABOUT KIM
Kim Darwin is a masterful accordionist as well as an accomplished pianist and composer. As a young boy Kim first learned to improvise on the accordion. Upon entering university at 16, he turned to piano and composition, earning a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
As a versatile freelance pianist and accordionist, Kim went on to enjoy a rich and varied musical career. He played in Big Band ensembles with bandleaders such as Bobby Hales and Dal Richards and played in show bands backing up Hollywood acts. Kim was also active in numerous Jazz ensembles including the Dave Quarin Quartet, the Roy Reynolds Quintet, the Ray Sikora Quintet and the Brad Muirhead Septet.
Kim regularly played piano in professional music theatre productions. He played with the Canadian touring show, A Chorus Line and with Gaslight Theatre and Arts Club Productions in Vancouver, BC. An adept vocal accompanist, Kim worked for years as a pianist with the Variety department of the CBC. He performed with numerous well-known Jazz vocalists such as George La Fleche and Eleanor Collins.
In the '80s Kim was a founding member of the Durmen, where his uniquely humorous, virtuosic and engaging style of composing emerged. His European-style dances and waltzes were infused with Jazz harmonies and improvisations. Pieces which bore quirky titles such as Apprentice Prepared Blowfish and Middle-Class Dance, are still performed today.
Kim also maintained a passion for modern and avant-garde Jazz. In the 90's, along with the fierce members of the Free F'all Quartet and the Paul Blaney Quartet, he continued to explore and push the boundaries of Jazz improvisation.
A very experienced music teacher, Kim has instructed hundreds of piano and accordion students. He has led adult education classes in piano at Capilano College, Vancouver, BC, held master classes and taught private lessons in piano and accordion. Kim taught for years in the Jazz program at Courtenay Youth Music Camp in BC. Kim's first priority was the wellbeing of his young students, although he did insist they call him by his title, My Liege. His students reciprocated by calling their band Ask Kim!
Kim has lately returned to his musical roots. He is now writing and recording music featuring the accordion in varied musical settings; as a solo instrument, and in duos and trios. Drawing from his broad range of musical interests, Kim incorporates elements of Jazz, Classical, Tango, and European dance music in his rich and lively compositions.
Recent musical collaborations include; recording and performing with the Saul Berson Jazz Quartet, an unusual combination of sax, accordion, guitar and acoustic bass and with Jaiya, a Celtic/fusion trio with vocals.
The Canada Council for the Arts has recognized Kim's talent as a composer and performer by awarding him a grant for specialized music sound recording. With the Canada Council's support Kim has produced his CD, Accordion Nights. Kim's album of original compositions has just been released in January 2004.