Album Notes

Ivan Owen is an Alaskan-born, Washington State musician who’s been playing black and white keys for over 15 years. The two main musical loves of his life, Piano and Accordion, were both introduced to him by chance.

At the age of 9 when his great-grandmother passed away, no one had room in their house for her antique baby-grand piano. Ivan’s parents didn’t have the room either, but they managed to squeeze it into a corner of their bedroom. From that point on, Ivan sent himself to the corner on a regular basis to sit and poke at the ivory teeth and make sounds come out of the mouth of the strange three-legged creature that lurked near the foot of his parent’s bed. Seeing his enthusiasm for the instrument, his mom and dad sent him to study with an instructor once a week.

Ten years later, one of Ivan’s friends was embarking on a trip to hitch-hike to Alaska for a few months. Before departing, his friend left an accordion for Ivan to borrow/take care of while he was gone. Applying the knowledge of music he obtained from learning the piano, Ivan quickly fell in love with the accordion as well. Having no prior knowledge of the instrument and no formal training on the accordion, he composed music that was a blend of sounds he has heard in more modern music like blues & ragtime with music from his classical piano training and splashes of the sounds & feelings of European folk music.

He has recently released his first album, "Squeezing the Life Into It", which is a selection of some of his compositions for piano and accordion that reflect his fusion of styles. He plans to do some additional recording and release a second album within the next year.