Boulou Ferre is simultaneously the most authentic and eclectic guitarist playing within the Gypsy jazz genre today. Authentic because he grew up within the epicenter of the tradition: He’s half Gypsy, his father was Matelo Ferret, he was born and raised in Paris, and he was schooled in the traditional Gypsy guitar technique and music from an early age. Eclectic because he mastered bebop before his teens, studied classical guitar at a conservatory, and has come to embrace musical influences as diverse as Lenny Tristano, Bach, and Arnold Schoenberg. Boulou has it all. Deep, deep roots in a traditional from of music as well as full understanding of the most complex forms of art music.

For those interested in studying Boulou’s style, see my Unaccompanied Django Book. Gypsy Etude #2 is a transcription of Boulou’s Baroque style exploration of Django’s Improvisation #3

Those of us lucky to see Boulou’s performances at the Djangofest NW witnessed just how powerful this man’s music is. These performances surely have earned him new found respect among guitarists in North America. For those of you looking for more of Boulou’s music you’ll find that there are about half a dozen commercial recordings available from the late 1970s on. My personal favorites are: Gypsy Dreams and Pour Django. However, Boulou’s recording career began much earlier when he was a child. The following recording was made sometime in the 1970s.

MP3: Mes Tziganes

Raphael Fays has been one of the top Gypsy jazz virtuosos for the past two decades. Born in Paris, he was quickly recognized as a child prodigy. His father Louis Fays accompanied him for many years. Raphael had the misfortune of having much of his career take place during the 70s and 80s. A time when there was little interest in Gypsy jazz. However, his pioneering use of Latin rhythms and modern repertoire influenced the next generation of super stars: Bireli Lagrene, Stochelo Rosenberg, etc.

Raphael Fays has an excellent right hand Gypsy Picking technique. Watch closely. He is one of the few Gypsy guitarists who plays with his hand entirely off the top of the guitar.

To hear more Raphael Fays see: Raphael Fays, In Concert, Swing Guitar, Ballade Manouche and Voyages.

The video archive is dedicated to Mary Honcoop. She generously shared her large collection of Gypsy videos with nearly anyone who asked. The video archive aims to continue her generosity now that she is gone. The Video Archive is devoted surviving video of Django Reinhardt and other masters of the Gypsy jazz genre. If you enjoy these videos consider making a donation.

To view this video you need Windows Media Player software. Download for free here: Windows Media Player

For more Django check out the excellent Integral Django Reinhardt collection.

More Django film clips are available on these videos:

Django Reinhardt Swing Guitar DVD, Stephane Grappelli  A Life in the Jazz Century DVD, and the Django Legacy VHS.

The video archive is dedicated to Mary Honcoop. She generously shared her large collection of Gypsy videos with nearly anyone who asked. The video archive aims to continue her generosity now that she is gone. The Video Archive is devoted surviving video of Django Reinhardt and other masters of the Gypsy jazz genre. If you enjoy these videos consider making a donation.

To view this video you need Windows Media Player software. Download for free here: Windows Media Player

The film “Die Ballade von Schnuckenack Reinhardt (“The ballad of Schnuckenack Reinhardt”) documents the love story of the internationally renowned musical multi-talent and jazz violinist Schnuckenack Reinhardt. He was born and grew up in Mainz as the child of a Sinti family of musicians where he learned to play the violin at the age of three. From the age of twelve, he appeared in concerts with the band of this father. He received his musical education at the Conservatory of Mainz. In the course of the racist policy of persecution of the Sinti and Roma in the National Socialist era, the Reinhardt family was arrested in 1938 and deported to Poland shortly thereafter. There, the Reinhardts eked out a living by disguising themselves as German-Hungarian musicians, always evading discovery. Five times Schnuckenack Reinhardt was nearly shot by the SS. He tells about his fear that was omnipresent throughout those years, from the youngest brother who was murdered in Auschwitz, and from the prayers of his mother to the Black Madonna of Tschenstochau. Before her image he played an Ave Maria to thank her.

Music, he said, saved his life. The violin was his weapon with which he “played himself free”. The film accompanies Schnuckenack Reinhardt on a journey with his sons to places that marked him and his music for life. By taking his sons to the places of persecution in Germany and Poland and to the places where he pursued his musical career after 1945 he wants to pass on the family’s history to them. The last stop on this itinerary was Samois-sur-Seine, near Paris, the burial place of his great example and relative, the Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Schnuckenack Reinhardt impresses not only by the wide spectrum of his musical skills. He narrates with wit and wisdom, with pain and yet with unbroken joie de vivre. The authenticity of his personality makes the film a unique eyewitness account of the history and culture of German Sinti in the 20th century, of which still far too little is known.

For more Schnuckenack Reinhardt see CDs: Musik Deutscher Zigeuner – Entire 8 Disc Set

The video archive is dedicated to Mary Honcoop. She generously shared her large collection of Gypsy videos with nearly anyone who asked. The video archive aims to continue her generosity now that she is gone.

The Video Archive is devoted surviving video of Django Reinhardt and other masters of the Gypsy jazz genre. If you enjoy these videos consider making a donation.

To view this video you need Windows Media Player software. Download for free here: Windows Media Player