Need Help! The Djangobilly Project

djangobilly

Hey there, my name is Amy Stone. I am a dancer, singer, sideshow performer and long-time fan of gypsy jazz. I would just like to let everyone on this forum know about an amazing kickstarter project that I just launched with a good friend of mine who is a skilled musician as well. He is gathering some of the best roots musicians around today to put together an american roots tribute to Django Reinhardt. If you can donate, please do, but if you can't, it helps just as much the spread the word! Check it out:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/252 ... ly-project

Jazzaferri

After checking outnthe project, the only thing I find amazing is ....there arent any GJ people in it.

Jim Kaznosky

Looks interesting. Although there are plenty of folks really playing this music daily, not just as a project. I'd prefer to kickstart records for these folks. Good luck.

djangobilly

These are actually people playing his music daily, in addition to their own stuff.

djangobilly

And Jazzferri, the intention here isn't to re-create Django Reinhardt's original compositions, but to have masters of other genres, re-interpret them in a new and different light.

Cuimean

Very cool idea. I think Django's compositions get short shrift. He wrote some brilliant brain-twisters and some lovely melodies that I'd put on par with the best work of folks like Monk and Mingus. I think that taking them out of a GJ setting will only serve to highlight their brilliance.

djangobilly

Thank you for the kind words! We think so too! Everyone involved in this is raring to go with ideas and we really want this idea to take off. So far, we've got Scotty Anderson, Michael Cleveland, Paul Pigat, Kenny Vaughn, Dan Levinson, Dennis Lichtman, Danny B. Harvey and Ashley Kingman of Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys, all waitng eagerly to put their own spin on some of Django's most compelling work. Please donate, spread the word and help us bring this project to life. : )

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/252 ... ly-project

- Amy

Bob Holo

There are so many talented young musicians who have dedicated themselves to this genre of music and who work their asses off to earn a couple thousand dollars to do a demo CD so they have something with which to market themselves… these musicians do gigs and house concerts and festivals and pay dues and deepen their knowledge of this genre and bring elements of their other musical inspirations in to create masterful and genuinely inspired and re-imagined music that expands the genre and causes it to flourish.

So... given that context, you want us to give $25,000 to some established bluegrass artists who have a passing interest in gypsy jazz and want to be well paid up-front to experiment with it and produce an album of standards....

Seriously?

This is a non-commercial forum. Fund raise elsewhere.

djangobilly

I am sorry you feel that way, sir. On the contrary, we're not out to make a buck, but we are out to make a quality album and that lets people see an already wonderful style of music in a new and different light. As I said before, these aren't guys with just a passing fancy for the gypsy jazz style of playing. And they aren't simply a bunch of "established bluegrass musicians" out to make a couple grand to get into a studio and lay down the same old thing. These are musicians of all ages who have worked very hard to perfect their craft as well, have marketed themselves well and earned a name for themselves in the business. Something that, maybe not all, but a lot of musicians aim to do. They have all put in years and years of learning and playing this style, as well as building upon their own.

- Amy

djangobilly

Also, I always thought that the aim of a community like this was to support one another in their endeavors and ideas. I see live music, pay for music, pay for lessons, cook for and let touring bands sleep in my house and I am sure if I met any of the young struggling musicians you speak of, I would certainly listen and support them, rather than criticize their ideas and put them down.

roch@rochlockyer.com

I just popped on-line to check the board before heading up to dfnw tomorrow and saw this. Thanks for the reply Bob.
Hi Amy, Nice to meet you. While I appreciate your enthusiasm and participation in your friends musical endeavours I would venture to say that Bobs reply is actually quite supportive to the community as a whole. While you mention some wonderful players in their respective universes.....you may be surprised at the number of players around the world excelling and pushing the boundaries of this music. You'll see some wonderfully creative playing at Whidbey Island this weekend, as well as any night of the week at Les Petits Joueurs or any number of venues in Paris...in fact as far as top notch musicianship goes one would be hard pressed to find anything, anywhere matching the playing of a handful of people in this musical lineage. As the music is becoming more a part of the fringes of pop culture many musicians see a potential opening to cash in on it's popularity without going through the fire so to speak. In order to put a creative take an something an artist must first learn that "thing" from the ground up...this is not so easy to do in any genere. WIth the right marketing and push pretty much anything can be sold and made to look relevant, but those in the trenches know the difference, and this happens to be a very passionate and well versed community of fans, players, luthiers, authors etc etc. Don't get me wrong I myself admire players from all corners/generes and in this case I have seen and really dug Scotty Anderson's playing a couple of times. But, in order to connect with a community one must first spend some time sharing, participating, and learning from/with the community they want to contribute to.
Good Luck with your project.
Best, Roch Lockyer