Johnny Meijer

Johnny Meijer (born 'Jan Cornelis Meijer' 1 October 1912 in Amsterdam; died 8 January 1992 in Amsterdam) was an accordionist who played classical, folk, and swing.

Johnny Meijer
Meijer in 1987
Background information
Birth name	Jan Cornelis Meijer
Born	1 October 1912 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Died	8 January 1992 (aged 79) Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Genres	Classical folk swing jazz
Occupation(s)	Accordionist
Instruments	Accordion

Statue of Johnny Meijer in Amsterdam

For a time he was known as a jazz accordionist and his 75th birthday was celebrated at the North Sea Jazz Festival. He was also the subject of a film.[1]

Besides the popular songs he also played fast swing numbers, Romanian music and classical pieces and was widely recognized as a virtuoso jazz accordionist. In 1974 he recorded the Dutch Swing College Band Johnny Goes Dixie LP, which went gold.

He will be remembered primarily as a live performer of folk music in Amsterdam. He was typically seen during performances with a cigar in his mouth, and his accordion (which can be seen at the Gert Nijkamp Muziekhuis in Apeldoorn) shows several burn marks as a result of this. In the last years of his life, Johnny Meyer was rarely invited to play large performances, mainly in connection with his short temper and his drinking, and thus the King of the Accordion saw out his final days mostly in silence, occasionally playing at weddings and parties.

In a televised interview during the North Sea Jazz Festival 2015 Richard Galliano specifically named Johnny Meyer as a major influence on his work.

References

1. Jura Film

External links

• Biography (In Dutch)