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Tony also wrote many other works published by Pietro Deiro now available through Deffner Music Publications. Tony and Art collaborated and published two successful instructional jazz books.
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“Tony and I met in the 40’s and became very, very good friends and he is a really fine Accordion Player” said Art Van Damme, legendary Jazz Accordionist.
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A wonderful tribute of Tony Dannon & Ollie Petrini can be found proudly displayed at the Borsini Accordion Factory showroom today.Īcclaimed as a jazz performer, Tony was a prolific composer of all genres of music, with nearly 2000 musical & orchestral publications. "Tony was the father of the accordion movement in Detroit, The whole country respected Detroit accordion players because of Tony's innovative teaching techniques, he genuinely cared about his students and the instrument.” said longtime friend Joe Cairo (Accordion Historian and the current house accordionist for the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas).īesides giving lessons, the duo sold custom built “Modern” accordions which were designed and hand-crafted in Castelfidardo, Italy by the renowned Borsini Accordion Factory. I can tell you growing up in our family were filled with very fond memories always centered around plenty of great music! At one time Tony had 22 family members that would sing and play a variety of instruments (mostly accordions) at our family gatherings. Students competed and would dominate many local and national competitions always bringing home a large collection of trophy’s. The studio was well known as "The School of Champions". Modern Accordion Studios earned a reputation as the largest Accordion Studio in the United States and students would travel from other states and Canada to get a lesson. With much hard work the school achieved had 1,000 students who were studying the accordion on a weekly basis. In 1957 Tony Dannon and his business partner Oliver Petrini opened the “ Modern Accordion Studio”. A photo of these greats are now a part of the Carnegie Hall Rose Museum exhibit in New York City. Tony also collaborated with both the Excelsior and International Accordion manufacturers as a spokesperson and performer for the brands.ĭuring the late 50's, Carnegie Hall was another stop for Tony while in New York City, where he performed an integal part of the "Great Accordion Artist Series" which included Charles Magnante, Carmen Carrozza, Angelo DiPippo, Myron Floren and the Tony Dannon Combo. In the early 1950’s he opened his own accordion studio with Mike Morreale. Tony, like most men of his day, proudly served in the armed forces and during WW II he entertained homesick soldiers, putting smiles on their faces and lightened their steps and hearts.Įmerging from military service he returned home and in the late 1940’s began his very first job, teaching the accordion for the famous Gus Zoppi Music Studio. Taught by these outstanding musicians and with much hard work and dedication, (practicing 5-6 hours each day, including an occasional slap on the hand by his father), rendered an accordionist who is considered to be one of history’s finestĪfter Tony and his family came to the United States in 1936, Tony’s father Agostino D’Annunzio was a big influence as he was frequently hired by Henry Ford to entertain guests at the Ford Mansion in Dearborn, Michigan and was labeled as the “Famous Accordion Player of the Ford Motor Car Company”. His God-given talent was recognized by his father (himself an accomplished accordionist) who started to provide lessons to his son and later Tony began studies with the great Pellegrini. As an internationally acclaimed jazz virtuoso, he played club dates in Detroit, Chicago, New York City and many other major cities across the United States, Canada and Europe.īorn in Villa Latina Italy, Tony started playing at the tender age of three. Joe Recchia's uncle Tony Dannon was the ultimate musician, entertainer, composer, arranger, music coach and teacher.