Wizmak Productions W579-38 (1996)

In WELCOME TO HEAVEN... David DiGiuseppe presents masterfully rendered American, French and Celtic dance tunes, staking out new territory on his piano accordion. Although the button accordion has long been accepted as a folk instrument, very few piano accordion players have utilized their instrument's flexibility and orchestral potential and applied it to this idiom.

But David DiGiuseppe has. In this remarkable and lovely CD, DiGiuseppe's accordion breathes life into a series of suites and dances, and even takes the place of the driving fiddle in two old timey numbers--and it works!

Within the first four tracks, DiGiuseppe presents his case as both arranger and player. The first track is a joyous medley of three tunes (Flying Home to Shelley, Paddy on the Landfill and Top of the Hill), and DiGiuseppe's arrangement flows like a river, gathering momentum with every turn of phrase, culminating with cascades of chromatic figures. The French Musette is a quirky, modern waltz performed with all the requisite sophistication and virtuosity. Boys Them Buzzards are Flying is perhaps the most surprising selection. It is a propulsive southern old time tune, and DiGiuseppe plunges in with all the fervor and punch that the genre requires. Any doubts about the accordion's ability to fit into the traditional lineup are dispelled here. One Last Time is simply and unabashedly lovely, deserving to become a favorite of audiences everywhere, and DiGiuseppe's arrangement brings the melody to full flower.

CD contents
1) Flying Home to Shelley / Paddy on the Landfill / Top of the Hill
2) French Musette
3) Boys Them Buzzards Are Flying
4) One Last Time
5) Stranger at the Gate / Miss Patterson's Slippers / The Mountain Meadow
6) Tight Old Sally Gal / Return to Miltown / Shenandoah Falls / Polly Put the Kettle On
7) Les Haut et Les Bas
8) The Midwinter Reel / It's Too Hot! / Come Along Jody
9) Planet Love
10) The Virginian / Easter Sunday / Patrick's Night
11) The Shaskeen Jig / The Dusty Window Sill / The Luck Penny
12) Crossing the Delaware / Trip to Nenagh / Dan Cleary's Ireland / Reel in B minor

musicians:
David DiGiuseppe--accordion, mandolin
Bob Vasile--guitar
Mike Casey--wooden flute
Pete Campbell--piano
Don Gladstone--bass
Jim Roberts--percussion
Joe Newberry--banjo
Ted Ehrhard--fiddle
Dean Herington--clarinet
Rob Van Veld--bodhran

credits
Music arrangements by David DiGiuseppe
Produced by David DiGiuseppe
Engineered by Steve Gronback
Recorded at TGS Studios, Chapel Hill, NC
Mastered by David Glasser
Mastered at Airshow, Inc, Springfield, VA  
Cover design by Barbara Wiedemann
Cover photo by Bruce DeBoer, Stone Soup Production, Raleigh, NC
Other photos by Ross Kolman

Reviews
Boy, can this guy play! Some people can fake a chord or two on the piano accordion, maybe play a little harmony, but David DiGiuseppe has done his homework, chosen some great material, assembled a bunch of flexible and talented sidemen and the result is captivating...(T)here is a wide and stunning array of music represented here...DiGiuseppe handles them all deftly.

...The arrangements are right on the money for the particular appeal of each tune, and DiGiuseppe resists the impulse to go over the top with so much talent at his disposal. The angels don't get much better than this.
Mary DesRosiers, Sing Out!, Vol 41 #4, 1997
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Gary Larson's 'Welcome to Hell, here's your accordion' cartoon was just one example of our culture's rejection of the accordion as nerditude par excellence. But the squeeze box has been making a comeback in recent years as ethnic old-time music have gained in popularity. While the piano-keyed variety is somewhat less common in the Celtic tradition than the button accordion, lots of good players are out there. One such player is David DiGiuseppe, whose album Welcome to Heaven is an affirmation of the accordion as one cool piece of hardware. DiGiuseppe is not just a player of Irish and Scottish tunes, but instead a roots music conniver who squeezes his way merrily through Parisians musette, old-time, bluegrass, contra dance and tango as well as lots of Irish tunes. There are many fine tunes on Welcome to Heaven, some traditional, some composed by such folks as Liz Carrol, and even a couple written by DiGiuseppe...resulting in a nicely varied sound, never monotonous and never dull. If you like your Irish tunes mixed with other styles, you could do much worse than this.
Steve Winick, Dirty Linen, #68, 1997

Ireland meets New Orleans in this homage to the much-maligned accordion. In the hands of DiGiuseppe, the instrument takes on new character, ranging from the panache of a Parisian minstrel to the jauntiness of a jig or the twang of old timey American fiddle tunes. He gets help from other musicians, and the instrumentation gives you an idea of what to expect from this CD: banjo, clarinet, bodhran, and more. DiGiuseppe is a musician's musician, incorporating technical mastery of his instrument with an ear for the surprising combination of Irish, American, and French influences.
Roxanne Kenison, Victory Review, Oct., 1996
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Since Touchstone broke up, no Triangle artist specializing in Celtic music has released an album as delightful as this one. The Chapel Hill accordionist and a righteous array of area talent--Mike Casey, Bob Vasile, Joe Newberry and Pete Campbell--have recorded an outstanding set of instrumental Celtic, French and American tunes good for listening or dancing.
Art Menius, The Independent Weekly, Durham, NC, September 18, 1996
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The accordion is on the rise again in America and it's thanks to either visiting proponents or homegrown players like David DiGiuseppe that the public perception is better than before. "Welcome To Heaven" sees a musician with his feet in the predominantly Celtic camp using the great tunes written by other musicians . . . A player of immense talent and vision, David DiGiuseppe is a musician worth encountering.
John O'Regan, Limerick, Ireland
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Another great recording, one that's taking up permanent residence on my cd player at home.
Paul J. Stamler, KDHX-fm, St. Louis, MO