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Luigi Frisina
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Luigi Frisina, or Lou as most of his friends know him, came to Australia
from Reggio Calabria Italy
at the age of 3 and settled in a small town 100 miles south of Perth. He
took up playing accordion almost straight away, learning on a small button
accordion that his mother had brought from Italy for his oldest brother
who showed no interest at all. Lou began playing by ear at first but that
proved no obstacle to him getting out a tune and he was often seen busking
for the patrons outside the local hotel.
At the age of 12 he began to study under the watchful eye of Dave Krygger
in Perth, travelling some 200 miles to and from Wokalup each week for
lessons. At the age of 18 he was selected to appear on Hector Crawford's
"Showcase" in Melbourne. Lou then played in various venues around Perth
for the next 30 years.
With the onslaught of the electronic age, Lou's Super Six Scandalli ended
up under the staircase for the next 10 years. In recent times Dave Krygger
started the Perth Accordion Club and interest in the instrument started to
rise like a Phoenix from the ashes. With the encouragement of his friend
Ugo Bartolomei, another accordion fanatic, Lou began to play more
seriously than ever and revived some of the old masters favourite
accordion pieces. The Scandalli Super Six, now over 30 years old and with
a daunting rich tone, came back to life when combined with Lou's lightning
fingers across the ivory keyboard. In appreciation Lou composed and
dedicated a song to his friend and named it "Ugo".
Lou would like to thank "maestro" Don Vickers, for his expertise in the
arrangements for both albums. |