by Brian OlewnickScenes From a Mirage was Guy Klucevsek's first release, and remains one of the very best examples of his extraordinary power and musicianship. The first five brief pieces are jewels of passion, melody, and precision, and give immediate lie to the notion of the accordion as some fusty relic. This is not your father's accordion. The first composition showcases the amazing breadth and richness of Klucevsek's free bass accordion, ranging from ethereal highs to impossibly dense and thick chords, all in the service of the melodic form. The melodies are romantic in nature, often sounding as though derived from various folk cultures from around the world. In fact, though credited to Klucevsek, it's difficult to believe that songs like "And the There Were None" aren't at least partially derived from existing folk melodies, so perfectly honed are the lines. Whatever their source, these five tunes are utterly delightful and will lodge themselves ineradicably in the listener's consciousness. Klucevsek has also extensively explored the contemporary classical idiom, and "The Flying Pipe Organ" offers this facet of his character. Based on a Chinese practice of tying "bamboo whistles of varying pitch to the tail feathers of hundreds of pigeons" flying overhead, it consists of the airy wheezes and breaths of four overdubbed accordions which move in slowly unfolding patterns. The closing title track combines melodic and experimental elements and was developed along the lines of a film score. Its intertwining free sections and propulsive melodies conjoin wonderfully in a strongly realized whole. Klucevsek would go on to work with a wide range of musicians, from Laurie Anderson to John Zorn, and would produce a number of beautiful recordings investigating, among other things, that mythical beast the polka. But this initial effort is a gorgeous document and should be heard at all costs.