Alek Yasko

An exclusive style of an accordion music.

You’d Better Hear It To Believe It! By Olaf Karrigan. You can see sometimes in the streets of the North Berkeley a French-looking accordion player, wearing a black beret. This guy isn’t French, though. He plays music in public places, and it’s really a special kind of music. It is immediately clear that he can perform any kind of traditional accordion stuff that people are expecting to hear. But this is not his goal! Can you imagine the sound of disco, rock or reggae music on accordion? That’s exactly what is Alex Yasko playing! If you ask any accordionist, even a professional, to play “Staying Alive” by Bee Gees or “Satisfaction” by Rolling Stones, or something from ABBA repertoire or just a reggae song, he probably would tell you that this is not possible technically. But if you’re sitting in a cafe or even walking along the street and suddenly hear the sound of “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple from an accordion, you’ve got just two words on your mind: No way! It’s nothing like a plain single melody line. It’s a full, juiced tone. You can clearly hear the bass, chords and even a bass drum! Although it looks like a circus trick, the pleasure is that you know this feat isn’t bogus! When I spoke with Alex I learned a couple of interesting things. He says that most accordion players seriously underestimate the bass line, which makes their playing one-dimensional. For Alex, the music is like a sandwich! The melody line and the bass line are equally important, and between them he inserts juicy, tasty chords. There is more. He sits on his accordion case and uses it as a bass drum, striking the rhythms by his right heel. How totally amazing! No one plays like that! When you listen to him you get the impression that he is a three- or four-person band. Alex says he had to totally change the entire system of his left-handed playing to create the needed effect. He plays bass lines like a bass guitarist. He has also invented the system of double and triple accompaniment, which allows him to imitate the entire band. Alex has arranged all of his pieces himself. Each one sounds both professional and beautiful. Alex is a very organized man. He has an awesome “Music Menu” in a plastic folder. There are about two hundred and fifty songs, divided into twenty-five different categories. Thirty or forty percent of them have never been played on accordion! You can choose to hear any one of these pieces, which will cost you as little as a buck. Also he has four discs: “Russian Album,” “Make a Wish” (International Mix), and his two last albums “Monster Bayan” includes rock, disco and reggae played on an accordion. Now I’m going to tell you where you can meet Alex and listen to his art: Monday and Tuesday he plays on Solano Avenue close to Peet’s Coffee and Tea. Wednesday morning he’s always in front of Cheese Board Pizza on Shattuck Avenue. You can also sometimes find him at the 4th Street Peet’s. Friday nights Alex plays at La Note French restaurant in downtown Berkeley on 2377 Shattuck. He also plays at various locations in San Francisco, such as a “Russian Tea Room” – Russian restaurant at 600 Balboa St. (every Saturday at 7 pm). Performers'/Artists' Voice voice@performancelab.org

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