This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Lots of kids take accordion lessons — but I doubt many of them are still playing it by age 21. And even if they are, we doubt they’re playing it anywhere near as beautifully as Filippo Gambetta.
The son of acclaimed Italian bluegrass guitarist Beppe Gambetta, button accordion whiz Filippo emerges from his father’s shadow with his latest album Pria Goaea. Able to coax more grace and warmth from a squeezebox than you’d think possible, Gambetta possesses not only tremendous technique and creativity, but also the restraint that only true a true virtuoso has the confidence to exhibit. True, the Italian folk tunes and eclectic contemporary jazz of Pria Goaea — imagine the soundtrack to a hip, black-and-white foreign film — aren’t typical folk festival fare. Then again, Gambetta is far from the typical accordionist.
