By Michel Mercier
In France amateurs and local pros can find some regular Jams in big cities like Lyon, Lille, Nantes, and Toulouse, but the Eldorado definitely remains in Paris. Any non-Parisian Jazz manouche fan visiting the French capital is thrilled by the amount of jams sessions and the very high level of musicianship. This is where the story began after all and Paris deserves its status as the “Jazz Manouche Capital of the World.” Of course we all know the Parisian “pompe”, slightly thick and focusing on the 1st and 3rd beat as you can hear it played for instance by the Garcia Family or Richard Chiche to name a few. However, Paris is probably the place where you can hear the widest range of styles as far as soloists are concerned. From Alsacian/German style fans (a sadly endangered species in the capital though) to early Django fans, crazy be-bop fingerstyle players or “New School” representatives.
Strangely (and unlike the rest of the world where Stochelo fans are everywhere) you won’t find many Dutch style players here. It’s hard to know why… maybe that – just like with cheese – Frenchies prefer to go local!
Paris allows you to hear all the top players on a daily basis, whether at Les Petits Joueurs, l’Atelier Charonne or la Taverne de Cluny to name a few. It’s really insane because you never know who’s gonna walk in : Angelo Debarre, Adrien Moignard, Romane, the Ferré Bros, Seb Giniaux, Noé Reinhardt, Moreno, Rocky Gresset, Benoît Convert, Samson Schmitt, Pierre Manetti, Levis Adel, Steeve Laffont… Just stay a month in Paris and you will see them all, each day of the week there’s a jazz manouche jam somewhere in Paris.
We’ll talk here about open jam-sessions, not the ones where you have to wait until the end of the 3rd set and know the band member’s family for 2 generations before being invited to play. Some can have a first set played by the hosting band but that’s all. There is really a lot to do for everybody whether you’re beginner or an advanced player. Please note that July and August are much quieter because of school holidays, so try to avoid this period if you plan a gypsy jazz manouche trip to Paris. You’ll still be able to hear Serge Krief at Les Tuileries’ fair or some other famous players here and there but the scene is definitely much quieter.
So let’s take a look at what’s happening each week in Paris!
On Monday the tiny and crowded “les idiots” holds an acoustic jam run by Mika Gimenez which often features talented young players as co-jam-runners (Benoît Convert, Brady Winterstein, Eva Slongo, Edouard Pennes, Mathieu Guinot..): you’d better play tough and loud there!
Tuesday evening allows players to experience the friendly acoustic jam at l’Oberzinc in the Ménilmontant neighborhood. Previously known under the name La Locandiera, it’s one of Paris’ oldest jam-sessions: the venue is cozy and open to all musicians regardless of skill-level. Music can be either tight or slightly sloppy but you can quickly feel at ease to play. A lesser known, but very interesting jam takes place also on Tuesdays at Les Petits Joueurs.
Held by Mathieu Guinot, with only two amplified guitars on stage and not so many people in the audience. Compared to the Wednesday nights, this jam is a great chance to play in gig-like conditions with tasteful players. Moreover you can play until 1 am which is quite rare. Sometimes Seb Giniaux (a regular of this venue) runs the jam and you can eventually get your butt kicked on 2 or 3 songs for the price of a 2,50 € beer. I guess a lot of people would agree to pay more for that! Musicians are really at ease at these Tuesday night jams. They are less for show and more about playing for pleasure.
I remember young G.H. from USA who stayed a few days in Paris after Samois 2013. We were hanging around with him and Denis Chang and eventually went to Les Petits Joueurs. He was awed when he saw Seb Giniaux entering the club. But that was nothing compared to what happened next: when G.H. came jamming on stage he looked behind him at some point to see that Seb Giniaux had just joined the band to play the double-bass (yeah, that guitar virtuoso also plays bass… and piano). You should have seen his face!
Wednesday night will have you make a choice: the nice and easy La Venus noire jam-session, right in the heart of Paris in a picturesque medieval cave with a rather young audience or the Mecca, the arena, the gypsy jazzodrome: Les petits joueurs. After the show (featuring Daniel John Martin on violin and world class players like Angelo, Tchavolo, Benoît Convert, Adrien Moignard or Rocky Gresset to name a few), jammers get a chance to play on stage. Let’s say it’s not really for beginners. Quite a big part of the jazz manouche who’s who are regulars of this jam and you never know who’s gonna come in. The lively owner Olivier David, the typical French food and cheap drinks make this place one of the best Gypsy jazz venue : true magic often happens here despite the noisy (but lively) atmosphere. Last month violinist Phoebe freshly arrived from Australia and found her playing on stage with Benoît Convert. Daniel John Martin likes to welcome friends or visitors on stage but this can be tricky. I once found myself sitting between Samson Schmitt and Noé Reinhardt (one of my two favorite players!) playing three songs including two I didn’t know. It was an honor and a quite a scare all at the same time!
On Thursday night you can hang around Beaubourg and its modern art museum before going to Le Komptoir. This amplified jam has also been here for a while and the idea is really to play for fun, with lots of energy. Again taking place in a cellar, this can only but remind us of the glorious jams of Django’s time.
A good way to start your Friday evening is to go at the Trudain’s café and attend the jam of Gwen Cahue. Starting early in the evening and located in Pigalle (a neighborhood where Django lived for a while), you will have the opportunity to play with one of the best of today’s young players for Gwen is a protégé of Tchavolo and Bireli (yeah, you read well…). By the way he’ll be playing in Samois on stage with the Matthias Guerry Quintet, be sure to check him out. Back to our Parisian Fridays, the best jam takes place at L’Apostrophe.
This is a very interesting jam-session because you get to hear excellent and lesser known musicians. Sometimes Adrien Moignard or Serge Krief can pop in but you get all those great bass, clarinet, guitar players, singers, etc. It’s packed with musicians from the Parisian jazz manouche scene! The atmosphere (thanks to the owner Kamel) is very lively and Parisian, prices are affordable and the jam ends quite late.
Nothing on Saturday for everyone is giggin’ somewhere: musicians have to earn money at some point to spend it in jams the rest of the week, right?
Finally, Sunday has its good share of jam-sessions as well. Every two weeks or so, the Green Linett (an Irish owned pub in the center of Paris) allows jazz manouche fans to play acoustic, enjoying the end of the day in a cozy atmosphere. Wooden furniture, pool, darts, books, English speaking personnel… and playing acoustic gypsy jazz for hours. Quite like if you were jammin’ at home actually, except that you have to work a bit on your right hand when the pub is crowded. The famous atelier Charonne has its own jam on Sundays (run by talented guitarist/bassist William Brunard) and you will be able to hear and see all the famous players that frequent Les Petits Joueurs. Needless to say that the playing is of the highest caliber, but William really organizes the jam so that everyone can play. A pity the atmosphere and prices of the place feel more like a tourists’ restaurant than an underground café…
Well jams come and go but this will give you an overview of the main ones. Let’s also remember that people in France, as well as in many other countries, love to jam at home or outdoors. I was surprised to meet a French friend living in Norway telling me that the people of his band never saw each other except in public places (bars, restaurants) or gigs! You play in the same band or you live in a city with only 10 people playing jazz manouche and no one ever organizes a jam at home? How sad… I believe this is an exception but if you live in such a place, come over to France!
Michel Mercier
P.S. Last month I told you about a new magnetic pick-up coming, well it’s now available on Djangobooks.com. Handmade in France by the son of Yves Guen, creator of the original Stimer pick-ups, check it out here:
http://www.djangobooks.com/Category/yves-guen-pickups
In France amateurs and local pros can find some regular Jams in big cities like Lyon, Lille, Nantes, and Toulouse, but the Eldorado definitely remains in Paris. Any non-Parisian Jazz manouche fan visiting the French capital is thrilled by the amount of jams sessions and the very high level of musicianship. This is where the story began after all and Paris deserves its status as the “Jazz Manouche Capital of the World.” Of course we all know the Parisian “pompe”, slightly thick and focusing on the 1st and 3rd beat as you can hear it played for instance by the Garcia Family or Richard Chiche to name a few. However, Paris is probably the place where you can hear the widest range of styles as far as soloists are concerned. From Alsacian/German style fans (a sadly endangered species in the capital though) to early Django fans, crazy be-bop fingerstyle players or “New School” representatives.
Strangely (and unlike the rest of the world where Stochelo fans are everywhere) you won’t find many Dutch style players here. It’s hard to know why… maybe that – just like with cheese – Frenchies prefer to go local!
Paris allows you to hear all the top players on a daily basis, whether at Les Petits Joueurs, l’Atelier Charonne or la Taverne de Cluny to name a few. It’s really insane because you never know who’s gonna walk in : Angelo Debarre, Adrien Moignard, Romane, the Ferré Bros, Seb Giniaux, Noé Reinhardt, Moreno, Rocky Gresset, Benoît Convert, Samson Schmitt, Pierre Manetti, Levis Adel, Steeve Laffont… Just stay a month in Paris and you will see them all, each day of the week there’s a jazz manouche jam somewhere in Paris.
We’ll talk here about open jam-sessions, not the ones where you have to wait until the end of the 3rd set and know the band member’s family for 2 generations before being invited to play. Some can have a first set played by the hosting band but that’s all. There is really a lot to do for everybody whether you’re beginner or an advanced player. Please note that July and August are much quieter because of school holidays, so try to avoid this period if you plan a gypsy jazz manouche trip to Paris. You’ll still be able to hear Serge Krief at Les Tuileries’ fair or some other famous players here and there but the scene is definitely much quieter.
So let’s take a look at what’s happening each week in Paris!
On Monday the tiny and crowded “les idiots” holds an acoustic jam run by Mika Gimenez which often features talented young players as co-jam-runners (Benoît Convert, Brady Winterstein, Eva Slongo, Edouard Pennes, Mathieu Guinot..): you’d better play tough and loud there!
Tuesday evening allows players to experience the friendly acoustic jam at l’Oberzinc in the Ménilmontant neighborhood. Previously known under the name La Locandiera, it’s one of Paris’ oldest jam-sessions: the venue is cozy and open to all musicians regardless of skill-level. Music can be either tight or slightly sloppy but you can quickly feel at ease to play. A lesser known, but very interesting jam takes place also on Tuesdays at Les Petits Joueurs.
Held by Mathieu Guinot, with only two amplified guitars on stage and not so many people in the audience. Compared to the Wednesday nights, this jam is a great chance to play in gig-like conditions with tasteful players. Moreover you can play until 1 am which is quite rare. Sometimes Seb Giniaux (a regular of this venue) runs the jam and you can eventually get your butt kicked on 2 or 3 songs for the price of a 2,50 € beer. I guess a lot of people would agree to pay more for that! Musicians are really at ease at these Tuesday night jams. They are less for show and more about playing for pleasure.
I remember young G.H. from USA who stayed a few days in Paris after Samois 2013. We were hanging around with him and Denis Chang and eventually went to Les Petits Joueurs. He was awed when he saw Seb Giniaux entering the club. But that was nothing compared to what happened next: when G.H. came jamming on stage he looked behind him at some point to see that Seb Giniaux had just joined the band to play the double-bass (yeah, that guitar virtuoso also plays bass… and piano). You should have seen his face!
Wednesday night will have you make a choice: the nice and easy La Venus noire jam-session, right in the heart of Paris in a picturesque medieval cave with a rather young audience or the Mecca, the arena, the gypsy jazzodrome: Les petits joueurs. After the show (featuring Daniel John Martin on violin and world class players like Angelo, Tchavolo, Benoît Convert, Adrien Moignard or Rocky Gresset to name a few), jammers get a chance to play on stage. Let’s say it’s not really for beginners. Quite a big part of the jazz manouche who’s who are regulars of this jam and you never know who’s gonna come in. The lively owner Olivier David, the typical French food and cheap drinks make this place one of the best Gypsy jazz venue : true magic often happens here despite the noisy (but lively) atmosphere. Last month violinist Phoebe freshly arrived from Australia and found her playing on stage with Benoît Convert. Daniel John Martin likes to welcome friends or visitors on stage but this can be tricky. I once found myself sitting between Samson Schmitt and Noé Reinhardt (one of my two favorite players!) playing three songs including two I didn’t know. It was an honor and a quite a scare all at the same time!
On Thursday night you can hang around Beaubourg and its modern art museum before going to Le Komptoir. This amplified jam has also been here for a while and the idea is really to play for fun, with lots of energy. Again taking place in a cellar, this can only but remind us of the glorious jams of Django’s time.
A good way to start your Friday evening is to go at the Trudain’s café and attend the jam of Gwen Cahue. Starting early in the evening and located in Pigalle (a neighborhood where Django lived for a while), you will have the opportunity to play with one of the best of today’s young players for Gwen is a protégé of Tchavolo and Bireli (yeah, you read well…). By the way he’ll be playing in Samois on stage with the Matthias Guerry Quintet, be sure to check him out. Back to our Parisian Fridays, the best jam takes place at L’Apostrophe.
This is a very interesting jam-session because you get to hear excellent and lesser known musicians. Sometimes Adrien Moignard or Serge Krief can pop in but you get all those great bass, clarinet, guitar players, singers, etc. It’s packed with musicians from the Parisian jazz manouche scene! The atmosphere (thanks to the owner Kamel) is very lively and Parisian, prices are affordable and the jam ends quite late.
Nothing on Saturday for everyone is giggin’ somewhere: musicians have to earn money at some point to spend it in jams the rest of the week, right?
Finally, Sunday has its good share of jam-sessions as well. Every two weeks or so, the Green Linett (an Irish owned pub in the center of Paris) allows jazz manouche fans to play acoustic, enjoying the end of the day in a cozy atmosphere. Wooden furniture, pool, darts, books, English speaking personnel… and playing acoustic gypsy jazz for hours. Quite like if you were jammin’ at home actually, except that you have to work a bit on your right hand when the pub is crowded. The famous atelier Charonne has its own jam on Sundays (run by talented guitarist/bassist William Brunard) and you will be able to hear and see all the famous players that frequent Les Petits Joueurs. Needless to say that the playing is of the highest caliber, but William really organizes the jam so that everyone can play. A pity the atmosphere and prices of the place feel more like a tourists’ restaurant than an underground café…
Well jams come and go but this will give you an overview of the main ones. Let’s also remember that people in France, as well as in many other countries, love to jam at home or outdoors. I was surprised to meet a French friend living in Norway telling me that the people of his band never saw each other except in public places (bars, restaurants) or gigs! You play in the same band or you live in a city with only 10 people playing jazz manouche and no one ever organizes a jam at home? How sad… I believe this is an exception but if you live in such a place, come over to France!
Michel Mercier
P.S. Last month I told you about a new magnetic pick-up coming, well it’s now available on Djangobooks.com. Handmade in France by the son of Yves Guen, creator of the original Stimer pick-ups, check it out here:
http://www.djangobooks.com/Category/yves-guen-pickups
The jazz manouche scene in France has evolved tremendously over the past 15 years.
Until the early 2000’s, the jazz manouche scene was comprised of a small, tight-knit community. Several factors then merged together and gave birth to a real trend: the release of Woody Allen’s “Sweet & Lowdown” with his numerous Django references, Bireli’s awesome comeback with his Gypsy Project’s albums, Django’s 100th anniversary or the French mainstream success of Thomas Dutronc to name only a few.
Bands were really growing like mushrooms! Jazz manouche was starting to sneak into TV documentaries soundtracks, TV ads, TV shows with guests such as Bireli, Serge Krief, Marcel Campion, Romane, Thomas Dutronc … Cd shelves in stores went from 6 or 7 jazz manouche references to almost 150.
Consequently, the style has now become a music genre that’s recognizable by mainstream audiences but the popularity of Gypsy jazz has declined a bit over the last few years. However, from a hardcore fan point of view, it’s much better! We got rid of all the fuss and also some of the wannabe guitar-heroes. This invasion of “Gadjo-chapeau” was getting annoying… Heaps of blokes playing with hats on, stiff right-hands, wrigglin’around when playing in their loose pants… enthusiasm was here but that was kind of depressing actually!
Nevertheless, the benefit of this decade is that Django’s name became even more famous and Jazz manouche really became a recognizable genre for record shops, jazz festivals or jazz radios like “TSF”.
As far as musicians are concerned, “free-lancers” appeared frequently. They came and went. You’d see them for a year or two and then they’d turn to straight jazz. These guys, although being excellent guitarists, never played 100% Django style and didn’t know much about the Gypsy jazz repertoire. They made you realize once again that the spirit of Gypsy jazz is not a matter of awesome technique and complex phrasing, but a matter of FEELING, blending feeling and technique being the icing on the cake, as did the 90’s generation who is still here: Romane, Serge Krief, Rodolphe Raffali, Raphaël Fays (now more into Flamenco), the Ferré Brothers, Angelo Debarre, Moreno, Dorado, Tchavolo, Ninine… You can regularly hear many of those top players in Paris or around France.
Raffalli is playing each Monday at Le piano vache, Ninine at La Chope des puces (with its Gypsy hard-Rock café design), the Ferré brothers can be heard at L’Atelier Charonne as well as Angelo who also plays at Les petits joueurs or Le petit journal Montparnasse. Romane is roaming France, often with his sons Richard and Pierre. Serge Krief has been invited to the Oslo Jazz festival with Jon Larsen’s Hot Club de Norvège. That was a very nice promotion for a truly original and skillfull player, unfortunately too rarely seen. He plays quite regularly at L’Atelier Charonne though and summer visitors can hear him each year at the Jardin des Tuileries’ fair.
Dorado and his family (Samson, Amati, Bronson and cousin Brady) are touring in numerous countries like France, Germany, Italy or in the USA where they even played for Leonardo Di Caprio! Who knows, maybe Leo advised Scorsese about the Django songs featured in the “Aviator” soundtrack… Looks like he appreciates gypsy guitar anyway. The Schmitt family is really one of a kind: they master a flawless and fiery technique, they’ve got soul and an incredible talent for composing beautiful songs with just a few chords: a modern feel with an ancestral gypsy soul. Take “Paris sous la pluie” by Dorado, “Stan” by Samson, “Sonny Day” by Amati, or the lesser known but still thrilling “En voyage” by Bronson Schmitt… you can hardly sound more Jazz manouche than that!
Of course you all know Sébastien Giniaux, Adrien Moignard, Benoît Convert, Rocky Gresset, Noé Reinhardt… the Selmer 607 crew, so to say. Now these guys have really created a new style of playing. Some call it the “New School of Gypsy Jazz”, the biggest influence being Bireli Lagrène of course. He’s the one who changed the scene. Lately he released a jazz-rock influenced album: “Mouvements”, with a mind-blowing title track. Bireli’s always on the move!
Now back to Adrien, Sébastien and Benoît, who are the leading players in today’s jazz manouche scene. People come from England, America, and Australia to meet them and follow their path. In France their influence is really important. It sometimes leads to surrealist discussions… I once met a young player (now quite famous with his licks and transcription videos) and asked him if he listened to Django, Wes, etc… the basis. Well here’s what he answered to me: “No I don’t listen to them: I transcribe Adrien’s solos because he already transcribed all these guys licks”. I didn’t know if should have cried or laughed!
RP Quartet is another band of young guys who blends French jazz with the golden age of American jazz, building a bridge between Django’s legacy and the music of Monk, Coltrane, Mingus… Both violinist Bastien Ribot and guitarist Edouard Pennes are undoublty as skilled as the most famous players and should gain fame in the community very soon. Ribot has a cutting modern-jazz style and Pennes has an incredible and flawless technique. They surely both are part of the Parisian scene’s best kept secrets. Didier Lockwood himself makes laudatory comments about this band. Their second album “Goat Rhythm” was released in France on March 3rd under the Frémeaux & Associés label. They played a show to a packed audience at the New Morning the same night and it was a real success. Half of the Parisian jazz manouche scene was there, including Serge Krief and Adrien Moignard who were in the audience. A few days ago we just learned they will be playing on this year’s Samois festival main stage so whether you’ll be there this year or just surfin’ the web, be shure to check them out!
Looking closer at the younger generation, everyone knows that young prodigies keep appearing once in a while but their career and future is sometimes uncertain. Those gaining recent acclaim include Swan Berger, Pierre Manetti, Noé Reine or Sandro Lorrier with his flamenco finger technique.
Antoine Boyer, who was trained by Francis Alfred Moerman, quickly recognized among both professionals (musicians, producers, journalists) and jazz manouche lovers as uniquely talented prodigy. With an unexpected musical maturity for his age, he has shared the stage with seasoned players such as Paulus Schäfer and Adrien Moignard. Adrien and Antoine worked together for a few concerts in 2013, with intricate arrangements and a nice repertoire.
The Reinhardt family legacy proudly continues in the playing of Django’s descendants: grandson David Reinhardt (son of Babik Reinhardt) and Levis Adel (descendant of Lousson). David has been invited in January 2013 to play with James Carter for the closing of the Parisian Django Reinhardt exhibition. Seeing David Reinhardt play with James Carter was really something. It was quite an impression for French jazz manouche fans to see one of America’s best African American saxophonists pay tribute to Django Reinhardt. The opening song of Carter’s show was “Pour que ma vie demeure”. Even some gypsy players don’t know that song… wow!
Now about records production, new labels like Label Ouest or Ivan Minthe’s Rosenberg Trio productions appeared in the recent years and that’s really good news because they’re doing a terrific job, being with front-line releases or reissues.
Samy Daussat is now the new artistic director for Label Ouest. Knowing what a man of taste and skillful player Daussat is, the choice couldn’t have been wiser. After having released in 2013 his own excellent and joyful “Scopitone” album featuring Tchavolo on a few songs, it’s now Tchavolo’s turn to record a brand new album! Yes my friends, 14 new songs of our good’ole Tchavolo are already recorded and should be released in May.
We spoke a few lines before about Frémeaux releasing the new RP Quartet record. Also from Frémeaux, released in 2013, let’s not forget the excellent Raffali’s “
