DFNW Reviews?

Charlie Ayers

Anyone care to review some of the shows this year (for those of us who need to experience them vicariously?)?

jonpowl

I'm especially interested in hearing about Gonzalo's quartet. We know Max O'Rourke did a great job, but who else played? Does anybody know if Gonzalo has permanently parted from Leah, Jeff and Brian?

Bob Holo

Gonzalo hasn't parted company with anyone, that I know of. Because Gonzalo travels all the time, his Visa was approved quickly, but his brother's took longer. They planned for it to take longer, but due to recent border/immigration B.S., I guess the Visa process has slowed down to an absolute crawl. Anyway, about 6 days before Djangofest, they knew it was unlikely that his brother's papers would be approved in time, so Gonzalo booked Max O'Rourke and PJ Wyderka ... who yes... did a great job. And because Jeff Radaich and Brian Netzley came to the show with Leah's quartet, They also sat in for half of Gonzalo's show - and both Rob Hardt & Leah Zeger traded time on stage. So they did highlights of the past albums and finished with some requested rarities and one or two of the new yet-to-be-released songs in the (time / months) series. It was hella cool.

Gonzalo's work and passion and just general reputation for being a good guy made it possible for him to knit together a fantastic group of other musicians, all of whom had to jump through hoops and juggle other gigs / tours & music school responsibilities to be there - but who gladly did it to support Gonzalo and Djangofest. That... is cool. That is community.

But AFAIK, the Gonzalo Bergara Trio/Quartet/Quintet is still live and kicking, as are his blues and rock projects in Argentina, and also this new Cuarteto, whose album I listened to on the way home. VERY cool version of Flèche d'Or on that album, and for open minded people whose view of jazz extends past GJ into modern, straight-ahead and blues, you'll like Impromptu & Ansiedad & & & ...

I should write more generally on the festival, but I've already run on too long. Maybe in a future post. Good stuff though. I missed the first day due to not getting my arse out of the house in time to make it through Seattle traffic (if you're trying to get through Seattle much past 2:45pm, forget it - it's a parking lot) and I missed one evening's shows due to laying down for a nap in the afternoon and waking up 9 hours later (lol) so I missed Tcha & Tommy, but other than that, I was at every show and loved it. Sort of a heavy "guitar work" festival this year so I didn't jam much - but that's probably best for spectators, all in all, as I'm no Django.

jonpowl

Thanks for the follow up @BobHolo! It was seeing The GBQ with Leah, Jeff and Brian that introduced me to gypsy jazz. Jeff's rhythm playing is incredible, is he playing lead guitar with the Leah Zeger Quartet?

Bob Holo

Yes, Jeff is playing lead with Leah's new band, and Chris Irwin is his rhythm player. Jeff & Chris have played together for quite a while now in various groups, most recently the Black Market Trust, and for some other cool things including some TV work and some studio work for other bands - like Daisy Castro's album: Déviation (though now that I think of it, I believe Gonzalo & Jeff backed Daisy) There's a pretty strong contingent of established and 'up & coming' players in the Los Angeles area. John Jorgenson's inspiration and encouragement is now producing a 3rd generation of players (He inspired and taught people who inspired and taught people who inspired and taught people). This type of extended musical inspiration/apprenticeship is one of the neater hallmarks of this style. I'm most familiar with the lineage of players coming from Seattle/Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston & New York, but I'm sure it's happening in other places in America as well - and certainly has been happening in many other countries for quite a bit longer.

Mandobart

This was my first DFNW. I camped by the fairgrounds and had a great time jamming with everyone there. Everyone was real friendly and patient with me as a first timer and still GJ novice. I played mostly 10-string mando and 5-string fiddle as my GJ guitar chops aren't up to snuff just yet. Took in most of the shows and a couple guitar and violin workshops. Weather was great most of the time. Some rain and wind but the marine layer would generally burn off by mid-morning. Highlights for me were Greg Ruby's new Rhythm Runners, Robin Nolan and of course Stochelo and Mozes. Always great to see Pearl Django, and Peter Smith was a fun surprise. I definitely plan on returning next year.

Charlie Ayers

Thanks for those reviews. Was it a shy crowd this year, perhap ;-) ?