Aimable

He was born on May 10th, 1922 at Trith in the North of France. His father, Louis Pluchart, was a rolling mill operator in the mines and he did not want that his son Aimable does the same job. He practised the saxophone in the municipal brass band and played football, but one day it takes a kick in the teeth. After this accident he had to give up this instrument. His father buys an accordion to him. He has a gift for the accordion and he is very appreciated during weddings and balls. It is the war,at 20 years, he must leave his native land but with his accordion. He arrives to Paris by byke with his accordion and his bag. He started on the Montmartre hillock, then on the main boulevards in Floréal. But he is mischievous with the occupying forces, he is sent to the STO, thanks to a pretty german girl. He escapes and joins Paris. He starts as tuner of the pianos and takes again his job of musician. He makes success, he leaves to play in London, again in Germany, in Abdjian, in England, in Spain and one day he takes part in the Vogue records. He stayed there during all his career, more than 50 years, like at Crosio, his accordion's brand. He was faithful in love and friendship. Great melodist, he records more than 10,000 songs, he had the nickname of BOTTIN MONDIAL of the song (world directory of the songs). He obtained the TRIOMPHE DU DISQUE FRANCAIS with André Verchuren, Yvette Horner, Edouard Duleu and Marcel Azzola. His career continues, the balls, the TV shows, the radios, he recorded all the styles; Viennese, musette, modern, the charts, traditional, Bavarian.

He was the only French accordionist to do several times the ED Sullivan Show and to present the Breton ball in the USA. He died on October 31st, 1995 because of a heart attack.

André Verchuren

André VERCHUREN was born in France (Oise). His parents are Belgian and his grandfather left Belgium to settle in the North of France where he worked as a miner. At the end of the 19th century, his grandfather already played the accordion and it is his father, who became a professional musician, who was his main teacher. Thus, at the age of 4, André Verchuren starts to learn the accordion and at 6 years old he does his first ball. At the age of 12, Andre gives lessons with his father Raymond Verchuren who has a school of accordion. After studying music theory and harmony, he participates in the greatest international competitions and wins a lot of prices. He took part in the Resistance during the war of 1939. He is arrested and left in the convoy called "TRAIN DE LA MORT" in 1944. In 1945, after 13 months of captivity, it is the Liberation and he must start from scratch again. After several hours of studies and work to find again his virtuosity, he continued his balls tours in the Oise department and its surroundings and he also gave accordion lessons. He participate in lots of movies and was took on at the famous radio : Radio Luxembourg. In 1956, he was the only accordionist to perform on the scene of the Olympia at Paris as an american star. In 1958, he celebrated his first golden disc. He has his own programme on Europe 1. In 1974, André Verchuren is victim of a serious road accident. His wife dies and his son is injured. That event forced him to cancel his musical activities during several months.

In 1982, he creates a TV show dedicated to the accordion and he is the first accordionist who to bring out a compact disc. In 2003, he made his great come back on the scene of Olympia in Paris for a single performance. He celebrated his 10 thousandth gala and more than 60 millions discs sold .

Armand Lassagne

 

When he was a little boy, Armand Lassagne, who was born in the region of Paris was intrigued by this curious instrument. "I found it beautiful and I liked that". Thus, his parents decided to offer him an accordion for Christmas. It had lessons with various teachers, then, without passing by the competitions, at the age of 14, he played with singers and musicians the weekends. Around the age of 17 he participated in radio programmes with stars of the period, that allowed him to be known and to give performances in many balls. Later he accompanied several artists, made repeated experiments and tried various sorts of music. Regular accordionist of "La chance des chansons" from 1982 to 1985, one points out him as an excellent teacher in academies and festivals.

Marcel Azzola

He was born in Paris on July 10th, 1927. In 1936, after 2 years of violin, he is only 9 years old, his father offers to him a small accordion without basses. Later he had lessons of accordion and gave a performance in balls. He will become teacher of accordion at the national school of Orsay. Entered in the history thanks to the famous "chauffe Marcel " that Jacques Brel launched to him during a recording which became famous, Marcel Azzola is currently one of the mythical figures of the French music, in all sorts of music. He practically accompanied all the famous singers such as Edith Piaf, Tino Rossi, Annie Cordy, Yves Montand, Barbara, Gilbert Bécaud. World Oscar of the accordion, he has an effigy in the Grévin Museum for ten years. Marcel Azzola is a musician who expresses not only in the traditional repertoire but also in light music, the musette and the jazz. He is one of those who largely contributed to give to the accordion its title.

Yvette Horner

 

French accordionist, she was born in Tarbes on September 22nd, in 1922. At the age of 4, her parents registered her to private lessons of piano. She does her musical studies in the Academy of Tarbes. At the age of 7, she gave her first concerts on sonatas of Mozart. At the age of 9 she entered the academy of Toulouse and at 11 years old, she wan th first price of piano. It is her mother who, admiring the sound of the accordion on the radio, obliged her to learn to play this instrument. Her education continues in Paris where she is the pupil of Robert Bréard. She studies this new instrument, wins competitions, her career slowly takes-off and her compositions become successes. Appreciated in the whole world, with her orchestra of ten people, she gives more than 2,000 concerts and records tens of albums.

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