Djangofest On Tour PORTLAND, OR

Phil

Here's some photos from DjangoFest at Portland's Old Church show March 15, 2007.

It was a great show, despite a few techinical difficulties with the sound. Seeing Andreas and Kruno on stage together and performing a few duets was fantastic. They did an unforgetable duet rendition of Bossa Dorado. Kruno with Vladimir on accordian performed great, Kruno's rich vocals along with his wonderful guitar playing were superb. Andreas and Kruno were backed by Michael Papillo and Teddy G on solid rhythm all night long.

A highlight of the evening, for me, was the suprise and fresh approach to Django's music provided by virtuoso guitarist Stephane Wrembel and his trio with Jared Engle on bass and David Langlois on percusion. Stephane was playing his signature model Gitane complete with 1948 Stimer which was plugged into to a few effects pedals...which brought this music into the next generation and pushed the genre in a fresh new approach. He went thru an AER amp and sounded great. I really liked the way he played a tight set with his trio and threw in different east Indian scales and references into the music. His new CD "Barbes-Brooklyn" is fantastic - without the effects pedals, but with brilliant clean guitar playing more modern jazz standards, some original compositions - the disc has a great feel and mood to it, incuding some gypsy swing, ballads, raga-influenced numbers - it will fit nicely on my shelf next to Ferre Brothers 'Rainbow of Life' and Robin Nolan's 'Travels' CDs.

Thanks to all for coming to Portland, Cheers, Phil

Bob Holo

Great photos, Phil. I particularly like the one with Andreas and Kruno on one guitar - it really captured the moment. Thanks for sharing them.

I also loved the new approach taken by Wrembel. The Middle Eastern references were insightful given the history of the music - and the American blues/rock cues were extremely well executed and helped me understand his background in approaching the music. I loved his effects because he used them masterfully and they fit with what he was doing. A few years back, my brother Dave, (a professional musician from Seattle) said something that really caught my attention. He said: "Most great musicians play by the rules for a long time before they learn how to break them right." That is what I got from Wrembel. His playing said: "This may not be what you're expecting - but if you're willing - I'd like to share with you what I see in this music." I think it took big brass ones for him to step up and do that show and I'd love it if he'd continue down that path as I think he's starting to find a new voice in the genre and that if he continues down the path he will have a lot of new things to say musically.

djangology

That waltz that Wrembel played immediately after Montagne St. Genevieve was the most technically incredible thing I have ever seen... I wish I rememberd the name of that waltz.

Jack

I feel like I post something similar after every show of Stephane and crew, but his musicality (and more importantly, his growth as a musician) continue to astound me at every turn. I understand that it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but in this genre especially it's been a rare treat to follow someone's artistic journey at such close range. I think the comparison to the Ferres is a good one.

To tell the truth, the first time I saw Stephane play I wasn't blown away by any means...he had the chops, of course, but it was really very similar to much of what was already out there. That was three or four years ago; I saw him for the second time just a little while later, right when he first started to incorporate some of his other influences into his concerts, and the effect was immediate-he was so much more at home in the music. Since then each show has only been a step up, building on what he's done before...it's been really something to see.

By the way Jon, I think I remember him rolling Montagne into Wasso at some point...like so:


Best,
Jack.

djangology

yep, thats it. awesome.

David F.

I'm reading this thread 2 years after the fact; I swear to the Goddess that Andreas was at one point trying to bait Kruno into playing "Walk Don't Run." But maybe my ears played tricks on me that night.

panasonic

Thanks for the tip...I tried it, but unfortunately nothing changed. I also was notified by a friend that the email they sent to that account today bounced back. It was my main email addy so this is not looking good... :oops:
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