Artist description Café Accordion Orchestra (CAO) performs an eclectic mix of French Musette, vintage swing, Latin and European dance music styles. Their repertoire is that of the "Bal Musette" orchestra, through which they recreate the music that was popular in Parisian dance halls, cafés and bistros in the 1920's through 1950's. It includes a healthy dose of "Musette", the gypsy-influenced romantic dance music that filled the cafes and dance halls of Paris in the 1920's, 30's & 40's.

Music Style eclectic folk/world/dance music

Musical Influences

Similar Artists Three Suns, Hot Club of France, Cheap Suit Serenaders, Brave Combo

Group Members Accordion - Dan "Daddy Squeeze" Newton, Guitar - Brian Barnes, Mandolin/Violin - Eric Mohring, Drums - Joe Steinger, Bass - Erik Lillestol

Instruments Accordion, Guitar, Mandolin, Violin, Drums, Bass

Albums "Dancing on the Moon", "On Holiday", "Cafe Christmas"

Press Reviews "Here's a simple stress test: If your tension's been rising due to pressures at work or at home, toss the latest Café Accordion Orchestra disc into your CD player. If, three songs in, you're waltzing about the room, you aren't as far gone as you imagined. If its sunny sound relaxes you, all the better. If you feel compelled to smash the disc into small pieces, well, medication may be required. What Newton and company offer is a way retro mix of Parisian bistro backdrops, Brazilian bossa, Argentine tangos, fun foxtrots, catchy cumbia and a touch of old-school swing. Although the orchestra slips a number of overseas influences through customs on this Holiday, Newton's accordion never lets things stray too far from a sandy strand beside the Mediterranean. While others cop styles with a deadpan irony that gets old fast, it's refreshing to encounter a whimsical labor of love like this one." -- twincities.citysearch.com, Sep. 21, 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Their leader is a certified idiot." -- Liz Masterson, Augusta Heritage Festival, July 22, 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Dance music has definitely made a comeback in the past couple years, but local quintet Café Accordion Orchestra was around way before the trend. Now, we're not just talking ultra-hip swing music here. On their second release (On Holiday), CAO does it all: waltzes, tangos, rhumbas, and their forté, the gypsy-influenced dance music known as Musette.As on their first album, Dancing on the Moon, CAO's music takes you on a voyage through French cafés and Argentinian bodegas while conjuring images of endless oceans and sunny days. From a subdued Musette ("Paris Musette) to a frisky foxtrot ("Angry"), On Holiday will make you feel like dancing -- and not just in that hip, zoot suit kind of way." -- Katherine Kelly/Minnesota Daily, Apr. 8, 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "The Café Accordion Orchestra is a dance band for people who still love to waltz and rhumba, an old-school combo. Led by the quietly dazzling Dan Newton, this quintet knows the value of understatement, warmth, discretion, subtlety and easy and genuine swing - not the zoot-suited kids' cliché that's all the rage. "On Holiday" is subtitled "a musical cruise," and the Café Accordion cats make happy stopovers in Paris, Puerto Rico, Tin Pan Alley and the land of Louis Jordan. They'll make your toes tap, your eyes twinkle and your heart long for a shipboard romance..." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 28, 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Imagine yourself in Paris sipping espresso at a sidewalk café and listening to a group of strolling musicians. Café Accordion Orchestra can take you there.... With a somewhat unconventional approach to the craft, and the honest talent to make it all work, CAO proves that bringing back the past doesn't have to be done in an over-exposed, commercial way. Forget all those hip new swing bands with their zoot suits and martinis; CAO is the real deal. And you won't be seeing them in any Gap ads, either." -- Katherine Kelly/Minnesota Daily, Nov. 12, 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of something nice and put this disc in the player. Or, better yet, clear the floor for dancing. The Café Accordion Orchestra...will gladly transport you to another time, another place.... For the fan of fine accordion music, this is a must, and if you don't like the much maligned squeezebox, this recording could very well convert you." -- SingOut! Dec/Jan '96-'97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Two words come to mind as I listen to Dancing on the Moon by CAPA member Dan Newton's Café Accordion Orchestra: mellow and hip." -- Julia Cortinas/Accordion Players News

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

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