Gypsy Jazz

NCJF will bring a new “old style” of jazz to our stage for opening night in 2016

A few years ago I attended the Canterbury Music Festival in the U.K. and saw a group called Klezmania, which played a wild mixture of Jewish, gypsy and folk music of Eastern Europe. They gave an exciting performance that really piqued my interest in learning more about these styles of music.
Last summer when I was planning my trip to Paris I asked some of our musicians where I might find “gypsy jazz” there—Paris is recognized as the city where Stephan Grapelli and Django Reinhart made their mark on the jazz world with their gypsy jazz. I was told that it was the most recognized jazz played on the streets of Paris, in parks, on corners, etc. Nicki Parrott e-mailed a friend who lives and plays in Paris and he told her that Le Taverna de Cluny had gypsy jazz. Well, “thank you Nicki!” I found really good jazz done by buskers on street corners, in parks and on church steps—all styles of jazz, except what I was looking for. On our last night in Paris we found LeTaverna de Cluny and the gypsy jazz that we had been searching for! The group was the Chistophe Brunnard Trio. The friendly bartender gave us a front row table and we were able to have the group join us and tell us about themselves, their careers as jazz musicians, and their families. It was a fascinating evening of exciting jazz and good conversation!
This year we are going to bring you “gypsy jazz” played by North Carolina musicians. Galen Hunsucker, a local guitartist and teacher leads the group, with Ian Oeschger playing rhythm guitar, Mike Adams on upright bass, Sean Crane on electric bass, and a violinist.
I hope that you enjoy our “gypsy jazz”!
Sandy