Maurice Jones Concert, 2025 South Pacific Accordion Championships – New Zealand
November 28th 2025
Harley Jones
Performance from the 2025 New Zealand Accordion Associations Championship & Festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. This performance was purely live, except for the use of a drum machine, everything was played in real time. Maurice Jones performs on a Titano Starlight accordion with MIDI and Ketron Solton X4 Midi Module.
Maurice Jones was born into an accordion-playing family. His father, Allan William Jones, and four of his uncles and aunts were all accordionists. He often performed duets with his brother Harley; together they recorded a duet album and won several television talent shows as children. Maurice became the first NZAA New Zealand Solo Accordion Champion in 1971.
00:00 – Introduction
00:33 – Bohemian Rhapsody
03:33 – Crazy Little Thing Called Love with Lionel Reekie
An early adopter of the electronic accordion, he performed rock and roll and contemporary repertoire on the new technology. He worked extensively as a session musician for television and radio commercials and accompanied many artists, including on the New Zealand No. 1 hit French Letter by Herbs. In 1997, he was invited by the Chinese Accordion Association to give the first performances on the MIDI electronic accordion in major centres throughout China, returning in 1998 to present workshops on modern accordion techniques using the MIDI-synthesised instrument. Maurice later served for many years as a factory demonstrator at the Frankfurt Music Fair, the world’s largest music exhibition. He has also adjudicated internationally in the USA and Australia.
A lifetime member of the NZAA, Maurice has contributed to every NZAA fundraiser, concert and dinner dance, providing sound systems, instruments and entertainment. He formed the Starlight Duo with Lionel Reekie (who joins him for “Jambalaya” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”), performing both in New Zealand and abroad. After spending time in Italy learning the craft of accordion repair, Maurice became manager of Accordion House NZ in 1980. For the past 20 years he has performed in the Dargaville Museum’s fundraising concerts and has been a major contributor to the museum’s extensive accordion collection ‘Accordion Gems’.
