Jo Privat – Atomic Swing – Accordion Transcription

Jazz Accordion Solos Installment #16

Jo (Georges) Privat was born on April 15, 1919 in the Ménilmontant district of Paris. While his grandfather played accordion, Jo started playing music after his aunt Yvonne offered him his first accordion for Christmas in 1927.

He took accordion lessons with Paul Saive, a renowned teacher at the time who also taught Marcel Azzola (another great that we will feature in a future installment). At age 13, Jo Privat started his professional career by playing next to Emile Vacher, one of the biggest stars of the musette genre.

He played for many years at the “Balajo” (a musette club named after him) but also worked extensively in jazz clubs around Paris and beyond where he performed with the likes of Django Reinhardt, the Ferret Brothers, Didier Roussin, and Patrick Saussois. Privat composed about five hundred works and left us with countless accordion classics and staples of the repertoire.

Jo Privat would have been 102 years old last week (on 4/15/21) so to celebrate his birthday here is a transcription of his 1945 recording of “Atomic Swing”.

Join us on FB, YouTube, Instagram and Soundslice to stay updated & show your support!