I am doing my senior thesis on Gypsy Jazz and the linguistics of the term itself, and I think it would be interesting to see what a traditional Romani, Sinti, or other European player who grew up in one of these groups would have to say on the subject. Do you begrudgingly accept the term? Do you think there is a more fitting title? Has the modern style strayed too far from your cultural roots? I can speak a little French but if you can understand English this would make my job a lot easier. If you fit these paremeters and would like to be interviewed please send me a DM. Thank you!
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I don't know of any A league European player that hang out here, at least on a regular basis. You'd probably have better luck asking in some Facebook groups.
You might have more luck with the younger up-and-coming players. Sometimes you can actually find their email addresses. The sons, grandsons, nephews, etc. of the iconic players.
And they're the future.
You might even ask our host, Michael Horowitz, who I think was an ethnomusicology student at one time.
Yes, I am not exactly limiting my options to the older legends but am open to any player who grew up in one of these environments. I am basically just interested in a first-hand POV from the more traditional players to see what they have to say on the subject. I know non-Gypsy players such as Bireli use the term "gypsy jazz" and it is a commonly used term by those peoples themselves, but I still think it would be interesting to see regardless!
I know non-Gypsy players such as Bireli...
I'll let somebody else handle it...
Well don't I look like an idiot; I always heard he was from France but didn't know he was a Romani. Thanks for pointing that out!
You might also refer to the work of Dr Siv Lie if you haven't come across it yet. She has "literally" written a book on this subject. https://music.umd.edu/directory/siv-lie I think she used to be on here, but not so much lately.
@sivylie
Also, this topic comes up in the forum a bunch. Searching for the word "gypsy" will get you nowhere, but search for politically correct and you'll probably find a bunch of posts.
And, yeah....Birelli....check his bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir%C3%A9li_Lagr%C3%A8ne
"Lagrène was born in Soufflenheim, Alsace, France, into a Romani family and community."
Thanks for the help and resources (still embarassed by the Bireli mishap, I guess I just don't listen to him that much compared to some other players), I will definitely do a lot more research. Hopefully I will be able to find someone who can help me out, but even if not it seems there are a lot of resources online regarding this topic. Thanks!
You could've done the politician thing and say "I misspoke". But this is fairly safe place to be corrected. More so, I'm pretty sure it'd be more correct to see him as Sinto.
Thanks for letting me down easy 😉