Art Damme Quintet - Cocktail Capers / More Cocktail Capers

Once described as "The hippest cat ever to swing an accordion", ART VAN DAMME achieved the near impossible by getting the Jazz firmament to accept the accordion as a serious musical instrument. Having got his recording career under way in the United States in the 1940s, in the 78rpm shellac era, he later enjoyed great popularity in Japan and Central Europe. This compilation is based upon his first two LPs, Cocktail Capers (1950) and More Cocktail Capers (1952), plus the various bonus tracks which were added when both albums were expanded from 10" to the 12" format in 1954. Also included is a further 10" LP from 1956, usually known as either The Art Van Damme Quintet or House Party. It probably goes without saying that this body of work is almost impossible to find elsewhere on CD, notably the latter album, which has never previously been reissued in any format.