Reinhardt Redux/The Gypsy Jazz Guitar Resurgence

by Stephen Rekas

Over the past couple of years I've noticed a rebirth of interest in the Gypsy jazz or Manouche guitar style associated with Django Reinhardt (1910-1953). Last summer at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention, the hands-down sensation was not a fingerstyle player, but a young Gypsy jazz guitarist from Germany named Joscho Stephan.

There are many other players worthy of mention. Romane and Derek Sebastian, Django's son, are active in France and the Robin Nolan Trio of Amsterdam, Holland performs worldwide. For ten years, versatile Scottish guitarist Martin Taylor enjoyed the privilege of touring with Django's legendary Hot Club of Paris violinist, Stephane Grappelli. The Gypsy jazz guitar player list for Europe goes on and on- Andy Mackenzie, Gary Potter, the Rosenbergs (Stochelo and cousin Jimmy), Jon Larson (Norway) - well beyond the scope of this article.

Here in the USA, Gypsy and Gadjo (non-Gypsy) groups like Paul Mehling and the Hot Club of San Francisco, Alfonso Ponticelli's "Swing Gitan" of Chicago, and Pearl Django in the Pacific Northwest, as well as versatile players like Raul Reynoso, Frank Vignola, and John Jorgenson are keeping the Gypsy jazz tradition alive and well. With DjangoFests© popping up in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and Sellersville, Pennsylvania, not to mention the annual gathering of Gypsy jazz guitarists in Samois-sur-Seine, France (Django's last stomping grounds) - the future of the style is secured.

In addition to the ongoing fervor among a growing segment of guitar players worldwide, the stage is perfectly set for a new popular awareness of this flamboyant style. Consider what The Sting did for Scott Joplin's music, what River Dance did for the Celtic style, or more recently- the push that O Brother, Where Art Thou? gave to roots or old time music. While ever-present but low on the radar screen of musical genres, each of these styles experienced a huge resurgence of popularity due to the advent of a film soundtrack. Something like five million buyers of the O Brother soundtrack can't be wrong; the spin-off Down from the Mountain tour film of musicians who participated in making the O Brother soundtrack has reached cult movie status, and still draws capacity crowds at art movie houses and campus screenings.

Soon to appear on a movie marquee near you is a film entitled Head in the Clouds, a romantic drama set in England, France and Spain in the 1930s. The film stars Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, and Stuart Townsend, and includes a minor role for John Jorgenson, a genuine Gypsy jazz guitarist, portraying Django himself. Critical response to the film has been lukewarm at best, with some writers going so far as to describe it as a "soap opera for the big screen". I must confess- I haven't seen it yet and in reading about it on the Internet, I find some elements of the plot less than appealing. Besides, how many of us can remember the plot lines of the other films I mentioned? It's the film music that takes on a life of its own and becomes a part of our popular culture.

Head in the Clouds or its soundtrack may be just the ticket to launch Gypsy jazz guitar into mainstream popular culture in the 21st century. Whether or not this actually occurs, Mel Bay Publications is poised to set the standard in Gypsy jazz guitar education with several fine Gypsy jazz-related products, many published in the past year and a half. These include:

Books
20273BCDGetting Into Gypsy Jazz Guitar by Stephan Wrembel
97021 The Music of Diango Reinhardt: Forty-Four Classic Solos by the Legendary Guitarist with a Complete Analysis by Stan Ayeroff
2207 Intro to Gypsy Jazz Guitar Book/CD/DVD by John Jorgenson
20014BCD L'Esprit Manouche: A Comprehensive Study of Gypsy Jazz Guitar by Romane & Derek Sebastian
20819BCD Hot Club Session: Basic Acoustic Swing Jazz by Felix Schell

Videos/DVDs
98470VX Diango Legacy- various performers
KL01X Gypsy Jazz Guitar by Kelly Lancaster
20865DVD Diango's Rhythm by Michael Dunn & Diango Reinhardt
99054VX Gypsy Jazz Guitar taught by lan Cruickshank
20087DVD Frank Vignola's Gypsy Jazz Jam

If you're serious about getting into the Gypsy jazz style, you're going to need an appropriate Selmer/Maccaferri-style guitar. These instruments are actually a hybrid of archtop and flattop acoustic characteristics. At the Walnut Valley Folk Festival in Winfield, KS last September, Dan Miller's Flatpicking Guitar Magazine booth featured Selmer/Maccaferri-style guitars by Saga Musical Instruments. Those with a fatter wallet and higher skill level can logically aspire to an instrument by Michael Dunn (featured in this issue of Guitar Sessions) or another of the many fine luthiers producing instruments in this style. l was impressed that even at Winfield, the bedrock of the flatpicking style and host of The International Flatpicking Championships, and within the pages of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Gypsy jazz is making significant inroads.

As a lifelong guitarist and a guitar teacher of twenty years experience, I've noticed that the musical tastes of most serious amateurs mature over time. This is a natural process. Those who begin with folk, bluegrass, blues, or rock eventually hunger for more complex harmonies and better developed melodic lines. We usually find these elements in the jazz or classic guitar genres. Looking further, it seems as if some players who may not be attracted to mainstream jazz or fusion are attracted to the rivulet of Gypsy jazz. Similarly, those who do not wholeheartedly embrace the classic guitar repertoire may find what they're seeking in fingerstyle arrangements using classical technique. In some ways it makes no difference which route you take as the outcome is the same- a broadening of musical understanding and a deepening of the creative spirit. Gypsy jazz looks and sounds like so much fun that few will be able to resist the urge to give it a try.

I hope you enjoy this special Gypsy Jazz Guitar edition of Guitar Sessions.
     Stephen Rekas GuitarSessions® Editor

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An excellent biography of Django Reinhardt by Joseph Dinkins can be found at: http://www.redhotjazz.com/django.html

If you want to see the real Django in action, an outstanding documentary film from the U.K. Stephane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century traces the life and career of the pioneering jazz violinist, but happens to include all of the known footage of Django Reinhardt.

Volume 6, Number 3, the March/April 2002 issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine is a goldmine of Gypsy jazz guitar lore. Check for availability of back issues at www.flatpick.com or call (800) 413-8296.