The Quarter Note – Dusty Strings Newsletter – Summer 2004 – by Clyde Holbrook

Django Reinhardt’s musical fame has always rested upon his achievements as a single note soloist in a group context. However, this Gypsy guitar genius was also an excellent composer and performer for the unaccompanied solo guitar. So much so that he even earned the admiration of the father of modern classical guitar, Andres Segovia. Unaccompanied Django provides highly detailed transcriptions of 16 of Django’s solo guitar pieces such as Tears, Improvisation, and Nuages. These transcriptions, which are for both fingerstyle and pick-style guitar, are with out a doubt the best transcriptions ever done of Django’s music. Each piece includes both TAB and standard notation. To help you develop correct Gypsy jazz technique, Michael has included Gypsy style left hand fingerings and right hand picking suggestions. These suggestions are based on the field work he did among master Gypsy guitarists in Europe. In addition to Django’s music, there are two transcriptions of solo guitar music by Stochelo Rosenberg, the contemporary master of Gypsy jazz, and three Gypsy Etudes which are designed to teach harmonic and melodic devices used by contemporary Gypsy guitarists. Students of any level will benefit from this excellent collection which is easily the most thorough study of Gypsy jazz to date.

The Quarter Note – Dusty Strings Newsletter – Summer 2004 – by Clyde Holbrook

Seattle’s own Pearl Django has been at the forefront of the Gypsy jazz scene in North America for over a decade. Now their excellent arrangements of Django Reinhardt compositions, Gypsy jazz standards, and their own original songs are available in a play-along format. The Pearl Django Play-along Songbook, which contains 17 songs, is an excellent learning tool. To date, this is the only book to provide accurate music of Django’s compositions in such an easy an easy-to-read, gig friendly Real Book format (both standard notation and TAB). The play-along CD is comprised of Pearl Django’s original recordings with the solos removed. Unlike many play-alongs which sound stiff and clinical, with the Pearl Django CD you feel as if you’re playing along with the band during a burning performance. In addition to the basic charts, separate harmony parts, introductions, endings, and advanced chord versions are also included. Two of Dudley Hill’s brilliant chord-melody compositions have also been transcribed in detail. This book is an excellent way for students of any level to learn the Gypsy jazz repertoire from one of the best bands playing today.

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Just Jazz Guitar – November 2003 – By Ted Gottsegen

For those of you who are currently working through Gypsy Picking, here’s another DjangoBooks.com release to fuel the fire to learn the authentic Gypsy style guitar. Unaccompanied Django examines the solo style of Jazz Manouche. From Django’s brilliant, often on-the-spot solos like Parfum and Naguine to Stochelo Rosenberg’s modern Stephanesque and the mellow and grooving Just Relax in addition to 14 other full transcriptions, Horowitz takes the lessons taught in Gypsy Picking and gives the player a melodic way to fully integrate them into their own playing. The transcriptions are outstanding, following Django’s original style – fingerings and all, while the Gypsy Etudes examine different stylistic traits common in Manouche solo guitar. Gypsy Picking set the standard for what a true method on Jazz Manouche should be and Unaccompanied Django raises that bar. Oh, and for all of you Gypsy jazz junkies out there who have broken the rewind button on your VCR’s in an attempt to learn Django’s glorious intro to J’Attendrai, that’s also included. Another killer DjangoBooks.com product!

Django Montreal Web Site – October 2003 – by Archtop Eddy

Those of you who’ve seen Gypsy Picking know how important his first book was to Gypsy jazz. It brought a new level of understanding to the right-hand picking technique.

His next book allows you to take these skills and apply them to unaccompanied pieces by Django as well as contemporary players like Stochelo, Angelo, Boulou, Fapy, and Bireli.

Working on soloing skills is a noble and satisfying undertaking. But, in my mind, studying unaccompanied pieces provides a different and possibly greater satisfaction — especially, if you are a lone player in your neighborhood.

Being able to pull off a Django piece by yourself allows you to dictate the emotional content and expression in a way independent of other’s influences. And there’s nothing like sitting on a deck or walking into a music store and being able to play a whole Django piece by yourself!

The pieces Michael’s picked provide you with more than this, however. They offer you an insight into Django’s head, helping you to form the vocabulary of his music and the mental blueprints he used to develop his Gypsy jazz soloing style.

There are 21 songs in the book. Enough material to keep most of us studying for a long time to come.

This book is the book that Michael worked on for years. Every piece has been carefully noted and tabbed. He has carefully identifed the proper Gypsy fingering patterns and pick strokes, something often missing with other tabs. The very process of memorizing these pieces brings insight and those “AH HA!” smiling moments of understanding.

Think of the first book Gypsy Picking as an “introduction” to the skills you need to appreciate the rest of your studies–much as RA Wilson’s Mask of the Illuminanti prepped you for the great Illuminantus trilogy, or Tolkien’s Hobbit opened the way to the Lord of the Rings. Think of Horowitz’ Unaccompanied Django as the beginning of your Gypsy jazz journey.