The accordion-centric, genre-bending duo of
Rob Curto & Corey Purcell
ABOUT
‘The Free Reeds’ is the musical collaboration of renowned piano accordionist Rob Curto, and acclaimed button box player Corey Purcell. These two seasoned musicians combine the strengths of their free reed instruments to create a truly unique performance experience, and incorporate a variety of influences in their musical repertoire including traditional music of Ireland, France, Sweden, and Canada, in addition to many original pieces.
ROB CURTO is an accordionist, composer, arranger and keyboardist based in New York City and Philadelphia. He is a founding member of the band Matuto which was selected to showcase at WOMEX (world music conference) in 2011 and chosen to represent the United States State Department overseas as part of the American Music Abroad program in 2013 and 2015. He has released 4 CDs as a band leader and is a prolific composer/arranger. His musical collaborations include performing and recording with Latin Grammy award winner Lila Downs, Klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, trumpeter/composer Frank London, Punjabi Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia and icon of Brazilian Forró, the great accordionist Dominguinhos. He is widely regarded as forró’s foremost ambassador in the States. An early devotee of North American swing music, bebop piano, funk, rock, and blues, he has combined these influences with his mastery of their Brazilian counterparts forró, chorinho, samba, maracatu, and frevo to produce stunning new results. He spent years living and playing in Brazil, completely absorbing and interpreting the country’s musical traditions.
You can learn more about Rob through his personal site: www.robcurto.com
COREY PURCELL is a multi-talented instrumentalist, singer, and Irish step-dancer from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Growing up in a musical family, he played various percussion instruments as a child, and acquired his first accordion when he bought himself one for his 16th birthday. Fascinated with the diatonic instrument, he was self taught for several years until he began studying under 7 time All-Ireland title holder John Whelan, who helped Corey hone his technique, and articulate his style.
Recently, Corey has branched out from his traditional Irish roots, and has been studying accordion music from France, England, and Quebec, which are all influences that can be heard throughout the repertoire of The Free Reeds.
Corey is also a founding member of the traditional Irish band 'Poor Man's Gambit', which performs regularly on the U.S. East Coast, and has completed multiple tours of the U.K., and Ireland. The group has put out several albums, which can be purchased through their site, or any digital media outlet.
You can learn more about Corey through his personal site: www.coreypurcellmusic.com
