Today I want to feature a curious instrument called the Chemnitzer concertina. This boxy contraption made its mark in Polish-American polka music, fronting bands that often also included an accordion, bass and horns. The predominant style that used this instrument was called Chicago Push. A good place to see a selection of these instruments is to browse the “for sale” pages a concertinamusic.com.

Listen to Jersey Polka Ritchie, and while you’re there, check out his impressive outfit. Here’s one more, the Wandzia Polka. The most famous polka concertina player was L’il Wally. When I was a kid, my mom sometimes listened to L’il Wally records. Here he is on the Lawrence Welk TV show. He was a very charismatic performer.

I think my favourite polka band that features concertina is Scrubby and the Dynatones, from just down the road in Buffalo NY. I would have loved to see those guys back in the 80s. Here’s a fun video from a reunion gig. I confess I’ve posted this video before, but I love it and will likely post it again. Zosia! Here are the Dynatones one more time, from back in the 80s. It looks like Scrubby is playing some kind of sea serpent with a life of its own. Although this is music played by Polish-Americans, and often sung in Polish, I still see it as American music. I don’t think European polkas have anything like this kind of drive.

Polka music doesn’t have anything like the popularity it once had, and it’s too bad, I say. Even the Grammy Awards have scrapped the polka category. There are still some excellent bands out there making this music, but it’s getting harder for them to find gigs. Perhaps the peak of this music coincided with the peak of industry cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and so on.