|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| DjangoFest Mill Valley California DjangoFest Mill Valley is a four-day festival celebrating the music and spirit of Django Reinhardt, a French gypsy musician who contributed significantly to American jazz's golden age in the first half of the 20th century. From June 8-11th, downtown Mill Valley will become infused with the spirit of this positive and contagious music, cultivating a true festival atmosphere as first-time hosts to the event. Players and enthusiasts from around the world will congregate to hear top, international Gypsy Jazz musicians in concert with exciting opportunities for fans, such as workshops, events at supporting venues such as the Sweetwater and Mount Tam Amphitheatre, "djam" sessions with other aficionados of this distinctive and vibrant genre of acoustic guitar driven music, and much more. Gypsy Jazz was invented and perfected in the cafes of Paris in the 30's and 40's by the influence of Django Reinhardt. A dramatic mix of American Swing, Parisian Musette, Spanish Flamenco and Eastern European, this unique style of guitar-driven jazz has been preserved and added to by devoted followers. Born in Belgium in 1910, Reinhardt was one of the first important jazz musicians to be born in Europe, and one of the most important jazz guitarists of all time. He spent most of his youth in Basque Gypsy encampments close to Paris and began performing guitar, violin and banjo professionally at an early age. When he was 18, Reinhardt was injured in a fire which left the third and fourth digits on his left hand severely damaged. Reinhardt focused on the guitar and developed an original style of playing that emphasized his undamaged fingers, the distinct Django-gypsy style. Playing with the infamous "Quintette du Hot Club de France" in 1934, Reinhardt produced a number of recordings at this time and played with American Jazz legends such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewars and Louis Armstrong. He continued composing and recording until his death in 1953. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |