Some of the world’s top exponents of Gypsy Swing will be gathering in London from 17 to 25 January 2010 to celebrate the 100th birthday (on 23rd January) of the legendary Gypsy, guitar genius, composer, band leader and creator of Gypsy Swing/Jazz: Django Reinhardt
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A nine-day festival of concerts and workshops featuring Europe’s finest Gypsy and non-Gypsy musicians will be the biggest collection of Gypsy Swing talent in the UK ever.
The event marks a cultural milestone in the history of jazz, celebrating the life of the founder of Gypsy swing, Django Reinhardt, who generated musical waves around the globe that today still influence the 1,000s of guitarists worldwide who follow in his legendary footsteps.
Each performance will take the form of a private concert with audience members able to hear the guitar performed acoustically in an intimate period environment and even meet with performers after the show.
Sylvia Rushbrooke, who is organising the festival, commented: “Django Reinhardt’s impact on 20th Century guitar music is undeniable – musicians as varied as Julian Bream, Les Paul, BB King, George Benson, George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix have all paid tribute to Django as inspiration and innovator. Django’s music is as fresh today as it was 80 years ago. When people hear this music performed live in the intimate setting of a Parisian café – or, even better still – round a camp fire, they find themselves irresistibly seduced by the fierce sweetness of the music, and the verve and skill of its players.”
Workshops are being arranged around London with some of the stars giving guitarists the opportunity to learn from the stars and perhaps for the first time an opportunity to learn directly from the Gypsies themselves who pass the music down by ear only.
The festival, which is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, will be hosted at Le QuecumBar & Brasserie, the world famous home of Gypsy Swing in London. With its intimate 1930s Parisian pre-war atmosphere, it seats 65 people, it makes the perfect and natural environment to hear and see this music and its performers as it would have been experienced in Paris cafes at the time Django played.
www.quecumbar.co.uk
SPONSORS: Many thanks to our generous sponsors assisting their country men to attend and for recognising the cultural value of this unique event. Without their help this would not be taking place Sylvia, Monika and Kevin of Le Q Records
Goethe Institut London
sjberwin LLP
www.stringbusters.com Norman and Cliff loyal supporters and fans
Brian Potts USA loyal supporter and generous fan
Customer and supporter Ivor Young of Prism Leisure Ltd Licensing & Distribution
Perrier sparkling water
bureau export french-music.org
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Sponsoring “Gipsy Connection” featuring Kussi Weiss
Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands
Belgian Tourist Office – Brussels * Wallonia
“The South of Belgium, Latin Europe in a Nutshell”
OLSWANG LLP
LOTTERY FUNDED Arts Council England
EU COMMISSION representation in the UK
Seafrance – the way to France
SeaFrance Dover – Calais Ferries, proud to support Le Q Records & Le QuecumBar International Gypsy Swing Guitar Festival celebrating the 100th birthday of Django Reinhardt. SeaFrance operates up to 15 daily return crossings on the Dover-Calais route please visit seafrance.com for more details.
