DjangoFest NW 2009 Continues 9/23-29 At Whidbey Island

DjangoFest NW, now celebrating its ninth year of bringing performers to Whidbey Island, has proven to be the premier showcase of gypsy jazz in North America, presenting some of the biggest names in the genre to thousands of enthusiastic fans.

DjangoFest NW 2009 is proud to present the Romane Trio "Father and Son", Richard Manetti, Ensemble Zaiti, Gonzalo Bergara Quartet, Stephane Wrembel - The Django Experiment, Howard Alden with Bria Skonberg, Hot Club of Detroit, Pearl Django,
Van Django, The Marc Atkinson Trio, Lache Cercel and the Roma Swing Ensemble, Billet-Deux, Hot Club Sandwich, The Djangomatics, Dennis Chang, and Mango fan Django. Many of these fine performers will be conducting workshops and, as always, the djamming will go non-stop for five days.

Gyosy Jazz (also known as "Gypsy Swing") is an idiom sometimes said to have been started by the Ferre brothers in the late 1920s, which later became popular due to the work of guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1930s.  Because its origins are largely in France , it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources. Django was foremost among a group of guitarists working in and around Paris in the late 1920s and 30s.

Many of the musicians in this style worked in Paris in various popular Musette ensembles. The Musette style waltz remains an important component in the Gypsy jazz repertoire. Reinhardt was noted for combining a dark, chromatic Gypsy flavor with the swing articulation of the period. This combination is critical to this style of jazz.  In addition to this, his approach continues to form
the basis for contemporary Gypsy jazz guitar.  Reinhardt's most famous group, the Quintette du Hot Club du France, also brought fame to jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.

Gypsy jazz, along with traditional Gypsy music, is learned by the passing down of knowledge from older generations. Many Gypsy musicians do not read notated music. It is more common for beginners to spend hours learning and memorizing songs from recordings and gleaning techniques from more experienced players.

In Gypsy jazz, guitar and violin are the main solo instruments, although clarinet and accordian are also common. The rhythm guitar is played using a distinct percussive technique, "la pompe", which essentially replaces the drums. An upright bass fills out the ensembles.  Although many instrumental lineups exist, a group including one lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars, and bass is often the norm. 

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