Album Notes

Luigi Frisina


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.