A nice suprise nationwide!

I receive a publication each month as a member of the Twin Cities Musician's Union, Local 30-73. It has news from all genres of professional musicians and orchestras that keeps me connected at an International level.

I was so pleased to find this article today, Cory is a friend and has agreed to be my jazz coach during the NE 2 NE Accordion Expedition. I think I chose wisely.

Excerpt reprinted from the International Musician article, February, 2014

Cory Pesaturo

When it comes to mainstream music, Cory Pesaturo of Local 198-457 (Providence, RI) does not currently consider the accordion to be part of that mix. As an independent musician who books all his own gigs, even potential agents tend to scratch their head, wondering where to place him

“It’s been a problem,” he says. “It’s kind of caused me to do all this innovation and to keep pushing, which is why I have a flame-painted accordion with lights in it.”

In his early days, Pesaturo played folky European ethnic styles with vast arpeggios and riffs. With influences ranging from Igor Stravinsky to Art Tatum, Freddie Hubbard, and Stevie Wonder, today he strives to create a sound unlike any accordion player he has ever heard.

He says he found his passion in improvisation. “When I found jazz, is when I really started to love playing the accordion, because it fit so well on the instrument,” Pesaturo explains.

In 2002, Pesaturo was the youngest person to win the National Accordion Championship, and in 2011 he won the Primus Ikaalinen World Championship as the first American contestant. He is one of only four accordionists in history to win a world championship on both acoustic and electronic accordion.