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21st CENTURY CONTEMPORARY:
"Included in the Saturday lineup [TAA National Accordion Convention] were two World Class women MIDI-accordionists, Janet Todd of Utah and Betty Jo Simon of Kansas. Janet…captivated the audience," Accordion USA News Internet Magazine (New York City)
"Janet Todd put on a dynamic performance…performed some dazzlingly difficult numbers, along with some of her own 'sentimental favorites,' on her electric accordion before switching to an acoustic accordion to play some 'relaxing' tunes, as she called them…She did a truly masterful job of entertaining," Accordion News (Stockton, California)
"Janet Todd---famed Utah accordionist shows us a fiery style…Show performer Janet Todd of Utah revealed her energetic style…Janet's unbounded energy and enthusiasm completely overtook the audience," Bellow Tones (San Antonio, Texas)
"I have a wonderful teacher now, Janet Todd. If you ever get a chance to hear her play--they call her the "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.' So, if you want to hear how the instrument is really fabulously played, go hear Janet Todd somewhere."---Dr. Dorothee Kocks, prize-winning novelist and accordion aficionado, on "Access Utah," Utah Public Radio
"The distinguished accordionist has performed across the globe and won international championships….Todd's extraordinary career spans several decades. She has played for audiences in exotic locations throughout the world"; two-column feature article "World-renowned musician in Holladay," Cottonwood/Holladay Journal (Salt Lake City, Utah)
"Our featured performer for the evening was Janet Todd, a virtuoso accordionist with a very long list of credits throughout her career…[She is] charming with sparkling eyes, in short, just plain lovely! Janet is a master not only of the acoustic accordion, but also the Concerto MIDI instrument. [The audience] was all smiles at Janet's fantastic performance. Janet showed great showmanship in performing each piece, delightfully enlivened by comments….Although it seemed the accordion was nearly as big as she was, she delivered her sizzling performance standing up….Janet hit the ground running with her…personal and dynamic arrangements. Janet Todd is…a wonderful person to showcase the versatility of our beloved accordion to the world. Thank you Janet, what a treat to have you with us!" The BAAC Page (San Francisco, CA)
"Janet Todd—A Salt Lake Secret," feature article title on the "prominent…accordionist," United States National News/accordionusa Internet magazine (New York City)
"Janet Todd is 'back in town' with her accordion…on demand at many events around the state and beyond," Close Up front page six-column feature, titled "Holladay's Own Accordion Master: She is piccolo woman but forte accordionist with passion for jazz," Salt Lake Tribune
"Utah Accordionist in Top Form" titled six-column feature article, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
"Janet Todd takes the stage in a printed frock and heels, hefting an accordion that weighs nearly a third of what she does. Just shy of 5 feet tall, she sets her feet in a wide stance to keep the 30 pound instrument from tipping her over. Then she cuts loose…she reels up and down the keyboard, zipping, trilling, leaping, and pounding. Todd's body sways and pulsates with the rhythm. She and her bandmates, The Bavarians, rocked the house at this year's Snowbird Oktoberfest. 'She was just wailing away on that accordion,' says John Collins, Snowbird's director of mountain activities, entertainment, and special events, who calls the 64-year-old Todd 'the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.' She loved what she was doing. You could see it on her face.' Thanks to people like Todd, the art of the accordion is alive and well in Utah," The Arts front page four-column article "It's So Square It's Hip," Salt Lake Tribune
"Janet Todd…one of the leading accordion players in the country….as she turned 60 strapped on an accordion again and began practicing 'just to see what might happen at this point in my life.' What happened is that she discovered there is still an accordion world out there. And it welcomed her back with open arms. Performances…received high praises, critics hailed her 'world class' appearances. Even more touching, she said, was that 'people remembered me.' They followed me around. One man remembered hearing me play in Washington D.C. in 1960, and told me I changed his life….One man had heard her play in Germany; another in Shreveport, LA. 'They remembered my style,'" three-column feature article "Musician Renews Her Interest in Underappreciated Accordion," Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
DECADES EARLIER:
A window into Janet Todd's earlier career is contained in these reviews/reports from a single 1965 five-month around-the-world U.S. State Department-sponsored show. She was the featured instrumentalist among 24 other entertainers, primarily dancers, singers, and comedians. The reports are in chronological tour sequence.
"Her version of the Dhanno Budunge [Sri Lanka national folk song] was really magnificent"; "…a scintillating display on the electric accordion"; and "…the performer with the loudest round of applause on Monday night was accordionist Janet Todd," Ceylon Daily Mirror.
"…an extremely brilliant young accordionist," Ceylon Daily News.
"Janet Todd, playing the accordion, gave a few rousing numbers, which included a couple of Kannada folk tunes, faithfully rendered. The audience gave her a big hand, and this was easily the highlight of the show," The Deccan Herald (Bangalore, India).
"Janet Todd, billed as 'Princess of the Accordion,' displayed virtuosity in her renditions of several Western classics and an assortment of popular Pakistani tunes," Morning News (Karachi, Pakistan).
"The group staged their first show less than six hours after their arrival in Kabul, yet…Janet Todd had learned our most favorite folk songs," Kabul Times (Afghanistan).
"Twenty-four year-old Janet…is a classical accordionist who has appeared in shows from coast to coast in the states, in Europe, and the Middle and Far East. Her numbers are some of the highlights of the show," Beirut Daily Star.
"Janet Todd came out and literally charmed the audience off its feet. She was the undisputed favorite. I think that only after five encores did they let her leave the stage," entertainer David Van Wagoner, Cairo, Egypt show, Curtain Time USA.
"The renditions of Turkish folksongs by the accordionist caused tumultuous excitement," the Adana, Turkey daily.
"Todd's playing Turkish folk tunes 'Burcak Tarlasi' and 'Shish Kebab' caused the salon to burst into a storm," "Gossip Column," from Izmir, Turkey daily.
"I want to tell you something even more important. The Russians came through here six months ago with their show featuring their national accordion champion. They performed very well but you performed better and the audience knew it. The 'Free World' has won the war of talent this year and it was your accordionist who captured our hearts. I have never watched a more talented artist perform. She is the master of all that I have heard in Europe, Russia, and Asia. I sincerely believe that she may be the greatest accordionist in the world and certainly the most captivating. She played the classics and Turkish folk songs like a true genius. She stirred my soul very deeply," Hikmet Simsek, composer, conductor, Ankara, Turkey Philharmonic Orchestra, Curtain Time USA.
At Vienna's famed Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival), "In the heart of the music cultural capital of the world, Janet won encore after encore with 'heavy' classical and modern compositions," Curtain Time USA.