Slovenian-style polka
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Slovenian-style polka is an American style of polka in the Slovenian tradition. It is fast and features piano and accordion. It is usually associated with Cleveland and other Midwestern cities. It is also known as "Cleveland Style" or, more rarely, "Croatian Style".
The Slovenian style polka band always includes a piano accordion and a Diatonic button accordion, also called a "button box". There is often a electric guitar, banjo, saxophone, or clarinet, as well as a bass guitar and drum set for rhythm. The Slovenian style polka in the United States of America came about when immigrants from Slovenia taught the old songs to their children. Those children, as adults, translated the old songs from the Slovene language into English, and arranged them in a polka beat. At first Slovenian style polka was just music for ethnic clubs and union halls, but the commercial success of Frankie Yankovic and other musicians soon introduced the genre to a wider audience. Dr. William Lausche incorporated the elements of classical music and early jazz at which point the style took on a type of swing that can be heard in his piano playing, even on some early Yankovic recordings. Johnny Pecon and Lou Trebar consequently extended the style to its furthest reaches harmonically, to the point of even including blue notes, substitutions, borrowed and altered chords homophonically or in the implied or broken form.
In addition to Frankie Yankovic, notable musicians in this style include Walter Ostanek, Joe Grkman, Dick Tady, Johnny Pecon, Eddie Habat, Stan Blout, Kenny Bass, Bob Timko, Lou Trebar, Dr. William Lausche, Eddie Platt, Lou Sadar, Paul Yanchar, Adolph Srnick, Johnny Kafer, Joe Luzar, Dick Flaisman, Bruce Burger, Marty Sintic, Matt Hoyer, Mary Udovich and Josephine Lausche, and many others.
