Tony Hughes, a long time member of the North American Gypsy Jazz community (Tony is a former member of the Hot Club of Philadelphia) has released a straight ahead Jazz guitar album consisting mainly of traditional standards (Stella By Starlight, I Remember you, Black Orpheus etc.). Tony is in fine form on an archtop guitar accompanied by upright bass and drums. The album is entitled "I Remember You" and is available at www.studiofa.com or you can contact Tony directly at redguitar76@verizon.net.

A gem in the world of Gypsy jazz, Reinier Voet (Lead Guitar) and Pigalle 44 will be in the USA for Django in June and Djangofest Mill Valley. The west coast show is at the Throckmorton theater in Mill Valley on June 5, 2009 in a double bill with Jazz guitar virtuoso, Mimi Fox.

There are still tickets left! Order yours TODAY at www.djangofest.com/sf/tickets.htm

Here is a sample of Pigalle 44:

German guitarist Josef “Wawau” Adler, long respected in Sinti musical circles, is a rare breed. A guitarist whose biggest musical influence--like so many Sinti musicians--is the great gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Adler has mastered the considerable technical aspects of he Django style, but more importantly, has absorbed the master's greatest lesson: to create music of one's own. For Adler, that meant giving away his record collection as a young man--he doesn't read music, but learned his instrument by painstakingly transcribing records--so that he would be free of the overwhelming influence of those that went before. Today, though his style incorporates bits of Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, and George Benson, Wawau has developed a style which, while resting on the bedrock of Django, is wholly his own.

That individual artistry is explored by Montreal's Denis Chang, himself a well-respected figure in the international Django fraternity, is his latest DVD, Jazz Manouche in the Style of Wawau Adler. Like his earlier discs (a treasure trove covering accompaniment, improvisatory technique, and violin playing in the style), his latest offering is a rich study, presented in a style that mimics the immersion method by which the modern masters of the style learned. There are no distracting books of printed music; instead, the student simply watches as Chang and Adler unspool a dazzling string of tunes, absorbing the nuances of phrasing and dynamics through repeated viewings.

In a culture where musicians have become perhaps overly dependent on written materials--the endless series of transcription books and tutorials that promise the impossible--this DVD puts the responsibility for learning squarely in the student's lap. Says Chang:

I really believe music (most kinds anyway) is a language and a culture; the absolute best way is just to immerse yourself in that world...unfortunately, that is not a possibility for any of us who don't live in Paris or the Gerwen gypsy camp in Holland...So I thought to recreate as much as possible that feel with great artists such as Wawau Adler, Stochelo Rosenberg [the subject of an upcoming DVD], and perhaps more...

I've basically put them on the spot, by having them improvise on practically every popular jam standard at different tempos and keys sometimes...they have no chance to work anything out...it's really hundred percent them...this way, you get to observe and hear all their quirks and everything that makes them who they really are... just like learning a language... let's say you want to learn English...when you hang out with certain people in New York, you start to realize that they don't speak textbook English, you'll hear the "I ain't got no time" "Whatcha doin, man?" etc...when you go to London , you'll hear "Cheers, mate", when you go to Canada, you 'll hear "it's aboot time, eh?"...it's all these little things that make a language/culture what they are...

To make all the music more accessible--the disc runs nearly three full hours--the material is broken up into two sections. Part I is The Songs, a section where Chang holds down the rhythm chair as Adler plays through through thirty-three songs that exemplify different aspects of the style. The goal is to cover all of the genre's common chord progressions, and the wide variety of tunes ranges from early era Django and American jazz to bop standards like Donna Lee and John Coltrane's classic Impressions. It's a heady mix of tunes that should give even advanced players weeks of material to work with. To further aid the student, every tune is recorded at multiple tempos, and alternate camera angles can be accessed to allow closer focus on Adler's fretwork.

Part II is The Lessons, a section where Adler talks more informally about proper rhythm playing, tone control, and phrasing. While Adler makes some sharp points about what it takes to be a good accompanist--play too loud, he says, and "Kaput! I kill you!" as he demonstrates by drowning out a soloist--the focus here is really on lead playing. (For budding rhythm guitarists, Chang's “Jazz Manouche: The Art of Accompaniment” is a more in-depth study of the style.) To that end, Adler presents a collection of licks and phrases that the student can break down and incorporate into his or her own playing.

In all, Jazz Manouche in the Style of Wawau Adler is both another excellent entry in a DVD series that serves a niche subset of jazz, and a welcome reminder that the genre is often best served when musicians are willing and able to step beyond its often self-imposed boundaries.

Here is the list for the concerts and gigs for Stephane Wrembel for late May and June 2009. All the details are available at http://www.stephanewrembel.com/

Thursday May 28 - 8:00PM - Bar Tabac (Brooklyn NY)

Saturday May 30, - noon - Bacchus (Brooklyn NY)

Sunday May 31st - 9PM - Barbes (Brooklyn NY)

Tuesday June 2 - 6:30PM - The Empire Rooftop (Manhattan NY)

Wednesday June 3 - 9PM - THE RADEGASTE BIERGARTEN (Brooklyn NY)

Thursday June 4 - 8:00PM - Bar Tabac (Brooklyn NY)

Sunday June 7 - 9PM - Barbes (Brooklyn NY)

Tuesday June 9 - 6:30PM - The Empire Rooftop (Manhattan NY)

Thursday June 11 - 6:30PM - Cafe Sustainable at the White box Theatre (Manhattan NY)

Thursday June 11 - 8:00PM - Bar Tabac (Brooklyn NY)

Saturday June 13 - noon - Bacchus

Saturday June 13 - 7PM - Fada

Thursday June 14 - 11AM - Cafe Sustainable at the White box Theatre (Manhattan NY)

Sunday/Monday June 14/15 - Rochester Jazz Festival

Tuesday June 16 - 6:30PM - The Empire Rooftop (Manhattan NY)

Wednesday June 17 - 9PM - THE RADEGASTE BIERGARTEN (Brooklyn NY)

Thursday June 18 - 8:30PM - Cafe Sustainable at the White box Theatre (Manhattan NY)

Saturday June 20 - noon - Bacchus

Sunday June 21 - 1-4PM - Fada : Special "fete de la musique" (Make NY music)

Sunday June 21 - 9PM - Barbes (Brooklyn NY)

Tuesday June 23 - 6:30PM - The Empire Rooftop (Manhattan NY)

Thursday June 24 - 8:30PM - Cafe Sustainable at the White box Theatre (Manhattan NY)

Thursday June 25 - 8:00PM - Bar Tabac (Brooklyn NY)

Friday June 26 - 7PM - DROM - Manhattan

Thursday June 27 - 11:00AM - Cafe Sustainable at the White box Theatre (Manhattan NY)

Saturday June 27 - noon - Bacchus

Saturday June 28 - 7PM - Fada

Sunday June 28 - 9PM - Barbes (Brooklyn NY)

Tuesday June 30 - 6:30PM - The Empire Rooftop (Manhattan NY)

My friend Scott Wise, of www.musetteguitars.com, has set up a special fund to help Patrick Saussois and his family. As many know, Patrick Saussois fell ill several months back. HIs condition has not improved. The fund takes contributions via www.paypal.com through this account: helppatrick@gmail.com. In order to make sure that this message gets out as quickly as possible, I will reprint Scott's letter here:

Dear Friends,

The following text has been posted at the Djangobooks forum at this location: http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6356
- a modest attempt to help out Patrick Saussois' family in their hour of need. Please pass along this info to others who may be interested, and please help out if you can. Any questions, you know how to find me... Many thanks in advance

... I am sorry to report that there is no improvement in Patrick's condition. In fact, I am told that he has what is called “Locked-in Syndrome”. This is a condition that few if any ever emerge from. Considering this, I would like to pass along a bit more information, including a short biography/CV.

Patrick has been a fixture on the Paris guitar scene for a long time. He's a superb guitarist (left handed, too) and can play in many styles. He played with the famed accordeonist Jo Privat, with many renowned gypsy guitarists, and made records here in the US with Bucky Pizarelli and saxophonist Richie Cole. His own records, whether they were solo efforts, with his regular band “Alma Sinti”or with various others like Koen de Kauter, were always full of clever arrangements, first class playing and superb production. He founded Djaz Records, a small company that put out many CDs of gypsy jazz and French mainstream jazz. This includes records by Ninine Garcia, Am Ketenes, Dany Bittel, Koen De Kauter, Raphael Fays, Dorado and Tchavolo Schmitt, and many more. He put a lot of effort into the production and packaging on the CDs Djaz issued – even the ones that he had to know would never make a dime. In years past he published a small but very interesting magazine called “Jazz Swing Journal”. These old magazines give a great look at what the Paris jazz world was like back in the 80s. Patrick is a great and generous character, always the guy who'd buy the first round. Because he's been around such a long time he always had great stories to tell – like the one he told me about how he and Didier Roussin got jobs playing in Jo Privat's band: old Jo was so impressed at their drinking prowess during the “interview”, he hired them on the spot without ever hearing them play... The point here is that though many people may be saddened by this turn of events, I don't think that the North American GJ community at large is fully aware of Patrick's place in the world of this music we all love. Believe me, his contributions were many and significant.

In recent conversations with friends in France, I've learned that Patrick's family has had considerable financial difficulty since he's been in the hospital. A few weeks ago I suggested to them that it might be possible to raise a few dollars for Patrick's family here in North America. I asked my old friend Francis-Alfred Moerman (he has known Patrick and his wife Lodie for many years) to check with the family to see if this was OK with them – I certainly did not wish to embarrass anyone. Francis called a few days ago and has gotten a green light from the family - they were surprised and quite grateful. So I'm going to give it a shot.

What I'm doing is this: I've set up a paypal account – it's the easiest way to transfer money around among individuals. And I'm asking members of this community to donate a small bit of money to help out Patrick's family. No one needs to give a lot, there are a lot of us here. After a period of time, all the money and names of donors (but not amounts given) will be transferred by the least expensive manner to the Saussois family. An accounting procedure is in place – any questions, please PM me. Paypal will take some of this money, around 3.3%, but that's a token amount. Except for such fees, every penny donated will go to the family. Any kind of currency is OK, of course. I don't think I can reasonably accept donations any other way except paypal. This isn't going to drag on and I'm not going to make a career of asking. We'll make this original request and then update once a week or so. Sometime in late June the project will end and all the money will go to Patrick's family.

I'm still working on setting up a webpage with a donation button but it takes time to set this up. It should be up and running in a day or three. In the meantime, the www.paypal.com account is helppatrick@gmail.com and anyone who wants to contribute and knows how the system works can go ahead and contribute now – all you have to do is go to paypal's home page and click on “send money”, it's very easy from there. Please spread the word on this, and many thanks to everyone in advance.

Regards
Scot Wise
www.musetteguitars.com

Hi Everyone. Marc Schwartz here from Hot Club Pacific. I just want to say that Michael at www.djangobooks.com delivers great service. I ordered some Argentine strings from his website on Thursday and had them on Saturday. This is a man who knows a thing about customer service. Add the fact that he knows a thing or two about Gypsy Jazz and you have a winning combination!

Thanks Michael !

BTW, I'll be posting reviews of CD's and equipment on this site as time goes by. I also write articles for Just Jazz Guitar. Cheers to all. Marc

Upcoming appearances for Paul Mehling's Le Jazz Hot and the Quintet of the Hot Club of SF:

Monday May 18, 2009 the Quintet will be in concert at YOSHI’S in San
Francisco
8 & 10 pm shows
http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco

Wednesday May 20 2009 and ALL WEDNESDAYS to come- Isabelle Fontaine and
Pazzo play French music and jazz manouche at CHEVALIER in Lafayette 7-10pm
http://www.chevalierrestaurant.com/home.html

Friday, Sat & Sunday May 22-24 Le Jazz Hot plays at the Sacramento Jubilee
http://www.sacjazz.com/

Thursday May 28, 2009 Le Jazz Hot trio @ Speisekammer in Alameda, CA
8:30-10:30pm NO COVER!
http://www.speisekammer.com/entertainment.html

Friday & Saturday May 29, 30 2009 Le Jazz Hot trio @ Left Bank in Pleasant
Hill, CA
7-11pm No Cover
925.288.1222
http://www.leftbank.com/locations/pleasant_hill.php

Sunday May 31, Le Jazz Hot Trio at Café Borrone in Palo Alto, CA
10-2pm
http://www.cafeborrone.com/music.html

Wednesday June 3, 2009 DUO GADJO featuring Isabelle Fontaine on vocals at
Shanghi 1930 San Francisco, CA 7-11pm No Cover! 415.896.5600
http://www.shanghai1930.com/

Sunday June 7, 2009 The Hot Club SF QUINTET plays DjangofestSF in Mill Valley
@ the Throckmorton theater. 8pm show.
http://www.djangofest.com/sf/home.htm
festival is Friday , Saturday and Sunday. Don’t miss it!

Thank you for supporting live gypsy swing music-

www.HCSF.com www.LeJazzHot.biz

Hot Club Hot Line 415.931.0909

*****watch for The Hot Club of San Francisco's HOLIDAY CD “Cool Yule” coming in late November 2009

Here's where you can catch the Campus Five & The Jonathan Stout Orchestra in the next couple of weeks:

Sun. May 17th
Maxwell Demille's Cicada Club
617 S. Olive St. - Downtown Los Angeles
Band Starts at 8:30pm - FREE
http://www.clubcicada.com

Wed. May 20th
Strutters' Ball - $1000 Jack and Jill Finals
Woman's Club of Orange
121 S. Center St. - Orange
Band Starts at 9:00pm - $12
http://www.struttersball.com/

Sun. May 24th
Frankie's Birthday Festival - Battle w/ the Boilermaker Jazz Band
Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th Street - New York City
Band Starts at 9:00pm
www.frankie95.com

You can hear audio clips & purchase thier CDs, "Jammin' the Blues", "Moppin' and Boppin'" and "Crazy Rhythm" at www.campusfive.com!

Leftover Dreams (Patrice Haan & Tony Marcus) will be performing at Le Bateau Ivre restaurant at 2629 Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley from 7 to 9 pm on the evening of Wednesday, May 13th. Le Bateau Ivre has a weekly concert series presenting a wide variety of music. Come enjoy their wonderful French inspired cuisine and hear the music in ambient coziness. There is no cover for this show!

Patrice Haan & Tony Marcus together are Leftover Dreams. Musically, Leftover Dreams performs standards (and not-so-standards) of the Great American Songbook combined with witty and imaginative vocal arrangements featuring Patrice Haan's sultry and seductive voice. Marcus plays guitar and sings as well, and the combination creates an intriguing mix of moody ballads, jumping swingers and unabashedly romantic love songs.

Marcus, a longtime regular on the Bay Area music scene, is perhaps best known for his work with R. Crumb & the Cheap Suit Serenaders and Cats & Jammers. He recently trod the boards of Palo Altos' Theatreworks, in the Emmy-award winning musical review "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues". Patrice was featured on her lever harp at The Boat in January.

Hope to see you!

For more information about the location: http://www.lebateauivre.net/ ; their phone is 510-849-1100.

For CDs and more information: www.LeftoverDreams.com

George Cole & Vive Le Jazz!

Little Fox Theatre 2223 Broadway, Redwood City, California 94063
Sun. May 17, 2009 - 7pm
$12 adv. / $14 door
Info: http://www.foxdream.com/foxdream/shopexd.asp?id=1438&bc=no

George Cole's superbly crafted and melodically sophisticated original music reminds us of the best of George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. He is considered by many of his peers to be one of the top "acoustic shred masters...

George Cole's superbly crafted and melodically sophisticated original music reminds us of the best of George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. He is considered by many of his peers to be one of the top "acoustic shred masters" on his vintage Selmer guitar. His highly stylized approach sounds like a cross between Django Reinhardt and vintage Les Paul. George's crooning vocals evoke the sound of early Frank Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr. His songs have a Jazz Age, Swing Era, and Gypsy Jazz rhythm that will make you want to move your feet and get up and dance. Some of his finest compositions are slow exquisite waltzes, such as "Sheila's Waltz" and "Waltz of the Trees." Vive Le Jazz! could either suggest a hot sultry evening in a Parisian nightclub in the Jazz Age or the energy of a large rock concert in a stadium. The mix of high energy guitar playing, soaring violin flights, and propulsive "le pompe" rhythm guitar style creates a dynamic musical experience. George's compositions are regarded as some of the most sophisticated and intelligent music that has ever been written.

George Cole is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, composer and producer. He's toured with Joe Walsh of the Eagles, recorded with producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen and Paul McCartney). George was the lead guitarist for Big Blue Hearts (Geffen/Interscope) and Beatnik Beatch (Atlantic) who performed with Ringo Starr and many others. He recorded on Chris Isaak's platinum selling Forever Blue Album and Lee Seung Hwan's multi-million selling Korean pop smash. He has performed with Warren Zevon, Buster Poindexter, Robert Cray, and Boz Skaggs. George was guitar instructor and mentor to Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Green Day for ten years. George has performed on Grammy nominated releases and won a California Music Award for Best New Major Label Artist. He is currently performing guitar and singing with the legendary Keely Smith, a Jazz singer band leader and film star who performed internationally with Louie Prima and for many years in Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra.
www.georgecole.net

Tunes at: www.georgecole.net/html/listen.php
And www.myspace.com/vivelejazzmusic

For Gypsy Jazz enthusiasts, summer in New England means Django in June. The annual event, a mix of workshops and concerts, draws hundreds of students and music lovers to the Smith College campus in Northampton, Massachusetts. Now in its sixth year, director Andrew Lawrence has brought some of Europe's brightest lights to American shores, including German virtuoso Wawau Adler and the stunningly musical Parisians Ensemble Zaïti (see an excerpt from last year's event below).

Ensemble Zaïti: Four on Six; Django in June 2008

But despite its impressive concert schedule, what really sets Django in June apart from the plethora of Djangofests out there is its week-long study program, dubbed Django Camp. Rather than attend a single, hastily taught weekend workshop, Django Camp students live together with their teachers for a full week on the Smith College campus, not only attending several small-group workshops a day (most average eight to ten students) but eating together, unwinding together, and inevitably, jamming together late into the night. Indeed, it's not unusual to see the headlining musicians still sharing tips and tricks over a 4 a.m. nightcap, creating an intimate, easy-going atmosphere that promotes an incredible musical camaraderie.

This year's event takes place from June 9th to 14th, and while some of the schedule is still in the works, the lineup will include Reinier Voet, Jan Brouwer and Gert Wantenaar of Pigalle44, Gonzalo Bergara, Kruno Spisic, The Denis Chang Quartet, Jamie Masefield (of the Jazz Mandolin Project), and violinist Tim Kliphuis. (For more details and audio/video links, visit the Django in June Artists Page.)

Registration information for Django Camp can be found here. The package includes housing from Tuesday through Saturday, all workshops and concerts, and meals. For a more in-depth description of the experience, be sure to see the Django Camp overview on the festival website. For stateside lovers of Gypsy Jazz, it's the closest you can get to Samois without crossing the ocean.

Occasionally, I put a guitar from my personal collection up for sale. You can see guitars presently for sale, as well as some cool guitars that I've sold in the past here:

http://vintageguitarsales.blogspot.com/

This link is permanently posted to the left.

We got a lot of emails over yesterday's prank. We had changed the name of the website to Bireliology and had a funny photo-shopped picture of Bireli as a diety. Of course, Bireli truly is the greatest guitar player... possibly, ever! Thanks to everybody who noticed our little gag. Here's a picure of what the website looked like yesterday.

(click for full size version)

La Manouche started in 1989 as an instrumental guitar duo, playing primarily Gypsy Jazzz. Over time, they added the traditional G ypsy songs that Mouche learned from his family. The songs are about the lives of the traveling people (Roma-Sinti).

Mou'che : vocals-guitar
Manito : backing vocals-guitars

http://www.myspace.com/mouchemusic
http://www.lamanouche.nl/