By Peter Alexander

Are you suffering, as I am, from “election stress disorder”?

If so, now would be a good time to take a break from politics and the news, kick back and enjoy some great accordion tunes. And just in time, Boulder’s Starkland CD label has issued a recording of just that: great accordion tunes.

Teetering on the Verge of Normalcy by accordionist Guy Klucevsek and some friends is the latest from Starkland, and it is a delight from beginning to end. From the very first track, “Moose Mouth Mirror” played by Klucevsek and violinist Todd Reynolds, the listener is in a world that is almost familiar, but, as the CD title suggests, not quite. It pulls you right in, gets you smiling and your toes tapping, and then throws you some curves that make you smile even more.

If you are not familiar with Klucevsek, he is a musician who loves the edges. Reviews of his work often stress how he transforms his instrument into something simultaneously familiar and unexpected. Downbeat calls him “A rebel with an accordion . . . . forcing you to rethink the accordion’s limitations.”

Guy Klucevsek

Long a feature of the downtown music scene, Klucevsek has performed with a remarkable list of new music artists and groups, including Laurie Anderson, Bang On a Can, Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, the Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant and John Zorn. He is a founding member of Accordion Tribe, and has now released more than 20 albums. He has played on John Williams’s scores for Steven Spielberg films including The Terminal, Munich and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

 One of the things that makes Klucevsek’s music outside of “normalcy” is the use of odd and nonsymmetrical meters—5s, 7s, irregular 8s as 3+3+2. In that not-quite-normal opening track, ¾ is followed by 3/8, then 7/8, and so on. But Klucevsek performs these patterns with such fluency that it sounds smooth, whatever the meter. You don’t even notice until you try to count along.

Michael Lowenstern

Some of the most engaging music on the CD was written in memory of, or as an homage to, other composers and friends. Among my favorites are “Little Big Top,” written in memory of Nino Rota, featuring some virtuoso bass clarinet playing by Michael Lowenstern. So well is Rota’s spirit conjured that Fellini scenes from Dolce Vita to 8 ½ flash before my eyes every time I hear it. “Three Quarter Moon” in memory of Kurt Weill evokes just the right tone of decadent melancholy.

Other favorites for me are two waltz tracks: “Bob Flath Waltzes with the Angels” and “Waltzing on the Edge of Dawn.” Klucevsek’s seamless partnering with violinist Todd Reynolds should be mentioned a particular pleasure of the disc.

Especially moving for anyone who loves opera and opera singers is the nostalgic “Song of Remembrance.” It was written for Tosca’s Kiss, a film about the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a home for retired musicians and opera singers founded by Giuseppe Verdi. “Pull up a chair, listen with me,” the haunting text begins. “In this beautiful garden, the opera’s about too begin. . . . We remember the rest.”

Pianist Alan Bern crashes Klucevsek’s party with a couple of solo pieces, including the wonderfully jazzy 5-beat “Haywire Rag.” Haywire, but delightful.

I won’t describe every track, so just get the CD. Take the advice of Seattle Weekly and “forget everything you thought you knew about the accordion.” Then settle back and go where Klucevsek takes you.

All the way to the edge of normalcy and back.

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Guy Klucevsek:  Teetering on the Verge of Normalcy. Guy Klucevsek, accordion, with Todd Reynolds, violin; Alan Bern, piano; Kamala Sankaram, voice; Peggy Kampmeier, piano; Michael Lowenstein, bass clarinet; Pete Donovan, electric bass guitar; and Barbara Merman, drums. Stark land ST-225.

Available from Amazon and iTunes.