Cafe Accordion Orchestra: Jazz and Java with Robert Bell and Tony Balluff

Parisian Elevator Music

CAO and their guest artists explore the close relationship of Hot Club Jazz and French Musette, the two primary styles of music found in Paris in the 1920s and 30s.

Dan Newton accordion and vocals

Eric Mohring mandolin, violin and vocals

Erik Lillestol bass and vocals

Brian Barnes guitar and vocals

Joe Steinger percussion

Robert Bell guitar

Tony Balluff clarinet

Dan Newton’s Cafe Accordion Orchestra (CAO) performs an eclectic mix full of French flare, Latin heat and Bohemian attitude. The heart of the CAO repertoire is the passionate sound of the French valsemusette. The group complements the musettes with swing, ballads, tangos, cha chas, rumbas, and cumbias to create a wonderfully varied show. They inject their music with good humor and expressive abandon. Their high level of musicianship and passion for performance makes them an entertaining concert act as well as a great dance band. CAO has been delighting audiences and dancers alike since 1995. They have appeared in New York at the Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing series, the International Akkordeon Festival in Vienna, Austria, the Minnesota State Fair, as well as festivals, theaters and dance halls across the United States.

“Full of heart and impressive natural abilities, CAO completely delights audiences.”–Jazz Police

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