Patrick Farrell

Patrick Farrell is a Brooklyn, NY based accordionist, brass fanatic, composer and bandleader. Described as a “wizard” by Feast of Music and “supersonically fast” by Lucid Culture, he is among the foremost practitioners of his generation of new American accordionists. An open-eared approach and consistent curiosity about music have led him to study and perform in an ever-expanding variety of musical fields, as well as to collaborations in theater, dance and spoken word.

Upon moving to Brooklyn from New Orleans in the spring of 2007, Farrell quickly integrated into the NYC music world. He leads his own band, the circus/new-music/comedy group Stagger Back Brass Band, inspired by a love of brass bands he first discovered on the streets of New Orleans. Stagger Back has its self-titled debut recording scheduled for a January 2009 release. He is also a member of the chamber/folk group Ljova and the Kontraband, led by violist Ljova Zhurbin, which just released its debut album “Mnemosyne” in September 2008 to critical praise. Graciously welcomed in by the NYC klezmer community, he plays in Michael Winograd’s Klezmer Ensemble and is featured on the album “Bessarabian Hop”, as well as regularly sharing the stage with luminaries such as Frank London (Klezmer Brass All-Stars), Margot Leverett (Klezmer Mountain Boys), Alicia Svigals (The Klezmatics) and Eve Sicular (Metropolitan Klezmer/Isle of Klezbos). Other current groups include Russian/Romanian Gypsy-music ensemble Romashka, Serbian-inspired brass band Veveritse and various improvisational and new music settings.

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