On Saturday the 5th of October I was invited to join the celebration of Mr. Karl Skaarup’s 85th aniversary as a professional accordion player. The aniversary concert will take place in Vestervig Kirke in the very North of Jutland, not far from where Karl lives, and quite a number of musicians, including the old master himself, will take part in the celebrations.
During the last year or so, I have been so lucy to play a number of dances together with Karl Skaarup and the young fiddler Kristian Bugge, and I am very much looking forward to perform at this anniversary concert:
I do have a lot of respect for the old man and his knowledge of the traditional music of his area, and even though he will soon turn 90, he is still one musical power station, and playing with him is just amazing. He once told me how he played his first dance in 1928 when he was 4 years old, and how the dancers would sing along with him to support him and the melody of the local dance tunes. Karl Skaarup is a fantastic musician, he has played the accordion all his life, and I am sure he will play it until his very last moment.
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