A fantastic album, and not only for the cover! I bought it directly from monsieur Astolfi just before Christmas and it has been spinning in my cd-player ever since.
Christophe did a great job: the musicians are all amazing and the music is very original, very different from what you've heard before in gypsy jazz, but so good!
This is a great recording of unique compositions and playing by a terrific guitarist and arranger with a superb group of musicians. But just be advised, this doesn't have much to do with conventional "gypsy jazz" - of course, that's all the more reason to give it a listen.
No exactly, not conventional "gypsy jazz" at all. But music with strong ties to the roots of "gypsy jazz": musette, acoustic swing (Selmer) guitar in the parisian/manouche style, modern jazz. All mixed up in Baro's highly personal compositions in 3/4 time. I bought the cd Swing valses d'hier et d'aujourd'hui in the 1990's and have been fascinated by Baro's music since then. And after all these years, this new cd suddenly turns up, with previously unissued tunes and a few oldies beautifully played by Christophe Astolfi and his band. One of the best surprises in a while.
Great photo too. The Futuro House was designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in the late '60s and quite a few were sold around the world but it seems few survive. This one is on display in the Marché Dauphine at Saint Ouen, presumably an area Baro would have known about all those years ago.
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