The musette waltz is a bit of a niche interest, let's face it. A kind of French-Italian folk waltz played initially on pipes, then later on accordion, both of which were probably a good, cheap way to get people dancing at cafes.
In the 19th century many “Auvergnats” (people from the Auvergne region in France) migrated to Paris. There they played their “musette”, which were actually “Cabrette” (a form of bagpipe typical for the Auvergne) for dances in Cafés. Their repertoire also consisted of waltzes, which for this reason were called Valse Musette. Later they were joined by Italian immigrants who brought their accordions and integrated them into the “Bals Musette”.
Well, the Valse Musette for me has come to mean that quintessential Parisian cafe sound, with or without accordion. Here's a version played by the Stochelo Rosenberg trio:
I first stumbled across this tune through Gypsy Jazz, aka the Parisian swing of Django Reinhardt and all those who followed him. Here, the musette waltz was picked up by some virtuoso guitarists, who played it so fast it's hard to imagine dancing to it without falling over. Here is a version by a French Gypsy Jazz group led by guitarist Clément Reboul. I particularly like the fiddle on this, not to mention the fiddle player's stunning red heels!
Finally, as this tune has become such an earworm for me, I had to eventually record my own version on clarinet with jazz pianist Marco Marconi. It's at a pretty sedate pace compared with what's gone before. Let's just say it should be a good fit for any beginner waltzers out there!
Click to hear: https://mldaniellem.bandcamp.com/track/indiff-rence
Happy Tuesday!
