Comments

• djangology Portland, OregonModerator

  April 2007 Posts: 1,018

  I have always wondered why there is so much of what seems to be the commercialized "smooth jazz" on the lineup at Samois. I am really curious if there is an explanation for this, given that the festival markets itself as influenced by Django and "smooth jazz" is CLEARLY coming from 95% non-Django influences.
  
  should I then assume that the unrelated musical performances are breaks between the gypsy jazz sets? if that is the reason, then I would understand, but if I think that way then are we just trivializing the other talented acts on stage. aren't they being trivializing by even putting them up on a stage, stuffed between gypsy jazz groups, with a picture of DJango in the background?
  
  If you argue that the smooth jazz "adds" to Djangos legacy, then by definition of adding, aren't we really slowly diluting the spirit of his music?
  
  If I stand back and try my hardest to guess what the reason for all this might be, my best guess is that it is all put together this way to prevent us all from getting "burned out" on gypsy jazz too quickly? If that is the case, then maybe it is a smart move, and somebody really knows what they are doing.
  
  In any case, I have always wondered...
• MichaelHorowitz SeattleAdministrator

  April 2007 Posts: 6,153

  Despite the fact that the Samois festival was inspired by Django, it has always been pretty eclectic. If you look at the programs going back to the 70s, there's always been lots of non-Gypsy stuff. In the 80s there was hardly any Gypsy stuff at all. It's come back in the last 10 years or so. But there's nothing new about having other types of music at Samois.
• HCPhilly Phila. PA✭✭✭✭

  April 2007 Posts: 147

  Re. Djangology's question about the lineup at Samois including non Gypsy jazz music. I went last year for the first time, and I was surprised to see some of the acts that were booked, which included a solo blues
  performer and a R&b dance band, [I'm not kidding]. I thought that it was a Gypsy Jazz festval. The answer that I got was that it is a French Jazz festival, [in the beginning it was more of a GY festival], so even though it's in Samois,
  [practically a holy shrine to us all], and it trades on Django's image etc.,
  they have to fill seats, which means booking non GJ acts. [BTW, it's a much smaller festival than I had expected,
  the Philly Folk Festival is much bigger]. I did get to see Fapy, Stochelo, Martin Taylor , Ritary, etc. But I left during some of the non gypsy Jazz acts. There was a straight-ahead band that was good, [the kind of stuff I can hear in NY or Philly at any time, it was a long way to go to hear that sort of thing]. I'm a full-time musician, and my other band is an R&b group. Needless to say, the last thing that I wanted to hear on a summer day in Samois was a group doing stuff that I have heard a million times.
  Some of the musicians that go to Samois hang out at the Campsite, and may not even make it over to the stage to see
  the performers that are booked. When there's a lame act on stage, you can go and maybe hear someone like Angelo jamming, or a 15 year old kid who played an L5 and sounds like Wes Montgomery. I'd still go again.
  I have gigs booked this year, so sadly, I can't make it.