Django in June

Craig Bumgarner

This was my first time and it was fantastic. Great concept, great shows, great jammin', great venue and most of all, GREAT people. Not to mention the weather! Only 363 (thank goodness next year is a leap year!) days to go.

A hearty thanks to Andrew and his crew!

Craig Bumgarner

Soref

It's impossible to say enough good things about this event. Tuesday night we were all treated to a great Ted/Dennis/Stephane jam, and right away it was clear how great this week was going to be.

The teaching was phenoemenal from day one. Tim Kliphuis gave us great encouragement and advice about dynamics, articulation and shaping a musical phrase. Mandolin/Guitar wiz John Mcgann's harmonic alchemy left us all with really cool ideas to apply to our favorite tunes. Michael, Ted, and Biel gave us great advice on passing chords, latin grooves, and nailing la Pompe during our rhythm guitar workouts. Michael and Dennis had lots of great licks for everyone try and wrap their fingers around, just wonderful stuff. I managed to observe the Wawau master class and he managed to pretty much encompass all the elements listed above in his class. Assisting the ever-impressive Vladimir with his Swing Valse workshop was fun too. I didn't get a chance to study with Stephane, or Kruno but people raved like mad about their sessions, and I'm sure they were killer.

The concerts were stellar, the Stephane Wrembel trio is about the most cohesive group of musicians I've ever seen play together, they are so in tune with each other it's scary. The trio linked orginals, standards and waltzes into epic medleys that whispered and roared. After the trio's set of Jimi Hendrix meets Django Biel Ballester came on stage and played some of his sensitive and thoughtful tunes with Stephane and the boys (who played this new repertoire like they'd been playing it for years). Solos from Biel, Stephane, Jared and David were all to die for.
The next night was just as good. Kruno and Vladimir, accompanied by Ted and Jared, ripped through django standards like there was no tomorrow. The highlight for me of their set were the Balkan tunes where Kruno's voice was featured as well his guitar. The shifts of groove, tempo and texture in Djelem Djelem were awesome. Wawau's set with Tim Kliphuis was nothing short of scary. I haven't seen playing like that since seeing Bireli and Florin in Chicago. They just pulled out all the stops. The mix of breathtaking virtuousity, and even more breathtaking use of space was sublime. The lines were so hip and the freedom with which these two improvised was astonishing. Ted and Jared totally met the challenge of accompanying these great musicians and the grooves would shift, drop out and come back in ways that would make your hair stand on end. Great music making. Another note on this last show, Wawau and Tim's, cadenza's were beyond words.

As good as all this was, the best part of the week was the Jamming. There were so many good jams that it's hard to pick one, and so many good players that I'm sure to leave someone out or forget a name if I start listing them. I will say Jamming with John Mcgann, Wawau, Dennis, Stephane, Ted, Jared, and David were precious moments I probably wouldn't have gotten to enjoy anywhere else. All the jammers were great though, and the really late-night jams with Josh, Jason, Eric, Thomas, Lex, Phil, and the rest of the crew were way too much fun.

Andrew Lawrence can't be thanked enough, this event was such a resounding success. The smoothness with which the whole event ran logistically has to be unprecedented for something this new. A truly great festival. Vive Andrew!

I'm sorry to be so longwinded but trust me, I'm holding back. There are so many great things to say about this festival.

-Jack

robertsaunders

Just wanna add my voice to the chorus of cheers. Andrew did a spectacular job: how he stayed cool throughout was amazing.

I hope to see photos and/or videos of the event, especially the jam sessions. I shot about four minutes of Wau-Wau, Kruno, and Dennis's jam Friday night for Josie-Ann, the fiddler, and asked her if she would maybe post it on a secure web page just for the DiJ community. She seemed agreeable so I'm keeping fingers crossed.

Highlights for me: Stephane's trio's concert (with little Gael waddling about in front of his dad)...his casual brilliance floored me; Kruno's songs; Vlad's great accordion solos; Tim Kliphius's humor and violin expertise; John McGann's improv class; Horowitz's thorough coverage of Gypsy techniques; Ted Gottsegen's unflagging rhythm accompaniments; Dennis's speed-delivery of tricks and tips; Wawau's master class under the shady tree; my pulling off a passable solo in a couple of jams as well as as witnessing a fellow player's improvisation rise to the level of genius; the spontaneous quadruple violin arrangements in the Saturday night jam in the Loggia; discovering mutual musical connections with local colleagues; and most of all sharing stories and laughs with fellow devotees of this music.

-Rob

jmcgann

Wow- It was a real eye-opener to be surrounded by so many excellent players and to make new friends (everyone I met and jammed with and taught) as well as hanging with old ones (Michael and Stephane and Jared, who i hadn't seen for years!)

As a teacher, it is great to also be a student and keep learning. I am a total infant at this style of playing, but I have a serious fire under my arse to absorb more of the right hand techniques that so many people are using so effortlessly (yes, I know they EARNED it!)...so for those of you students who felt a gap between your ability and those of the performers, you aren't alone!!!

As I cpntinue to 'shed this music, i will be creating more mandolin lessons to share what I come up with in applying these sounds, especially to the octave mandolin which seems sonically very well suited for the music (nothing wrong with soprano mando, mind you!)

Thanks to everyone, especially our fearless leader Andrew who is a not- too-shabby player on top of being an amazing organizer

klaatu

I have to add my two cents to the plaudits for Django camp. It was the most astonishing and rewarding music festival I have ever attended. Instruction of the highest level from Dennis, Stephan, Kruno, Ted, Biel, and Michael (those were the ones whose sessions I attended, and heard nothing but high praise for the others). Incredible concerts by Stephan, Kruno, Tim, and Wawau. Ted, you are the rhythm king!

And the jams! They started Tuesday around 3 PM and continued practically the entire time there was nothing else going on. One night I crashed at 4 AM, and some of the gypsy ANIMALS were still going! It was worth the cost and the many hours in the car just for the jams alone, the chance to play with some wonderful people, to be challenged to stretch, and to just experience the sheer joy of playing gypsy jazz with other enthusiasts.

Andrew, you are awesome, man. You really pulled it off. I will be among those returning next year. It will be be great to reunite with my many newfound friends and see how far we have progressed in the intervening year.

robertsaunders

Hey John,

As long as you're here as a captive audience...as one of your morning improv-class pupils I wanna thank you for your great, all too brief exposition on theory. You actually made complex ideas understandable to me, who have a short attention span for such stuff. Plus, I loved listening to you burn up the fretboard in jams on that octave contraption of yours. Mixing medieval, swing-era, gypsy, and straight-ahead (not to mention classical and, did I hear bluegrass?) together in a couple choruses takes formidable brain, as well as heart, power.

dennis

john's unique playing (and instrument) helped keep me sane from all this django stuff. I love the music, but I spent many years listening to it near exclusively, i needed some fresh air and john provided it! thanks man! and this week i actually fell in love with the mandolin , what an awesome instrument... i tried it for the first time and spent a few minutes figuring out a few tunes

dennis

btw guys, it's wawau not wau-wau ;-) .... but you might as well just call him wow wow... he 's been one of my favorite guitarists since i discovered him in 2002

though i was a teacher at django in june, it was great to be able to attend his workshop, thanks andrew!

MichaelHorowitz

Kudos to Andrew for putting on an incredible event! This was the first ever, Gypsy jazz camp. And it was without a doubt, a huge success. There was participation from all levels, from total beginners to seasoned veterans. Jamming was 24/7 and often at a very high level. Everyone seemed to get something from the experience.

The performances were varied and of the highest caliber. Stephane Wrembel continues to push the boundaries of the genre with new repertoire and influences while Kruno and Vlado served up a wonderful mix of Balkan meets Manouche. Biel Ballaster made his first US appearance and impressed us all with his subtle touch and Latin stylings. And finally, Tim Kliphuis' nimble violin work and Wawau Adler's jaw dropping guitar technique left none disappointed.

I can't wait till next year!



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andoatagn

Wow. What a week. I'm still recovering and I have a lot of cleanup/catchup to do, but I'd like to share a few impressions from the organizer's chair while Django in June 07 is still fresh in my mind. Pardon me if this is a bit long, but when I’m done I have to go back to writing checks to people and this is way more fun. javascript:emoticon('')
Wink

First off, thanks to all the folks who showed up, especially those who signed on for all of Django Camp. I really wanted to explore this extended format and see how it could serve us both as students of this music and as a community. I have yet to send out (or receive) the official feedback forms, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the Camp format served us really well. On Thursday morning – after an evening and one full day - I realized that that would have been departure time for a weekend-length event, and we were really just beginning to settle in! I’m committed to offering Django Camp as part of Django in June again next year and seeing how we can make it even more enticing, inspiring and useful.

I hope you’ll indulge me in some reflections on (and thanks to) the staff and artists who made it all happen:

Stephane Wrembel: Part Buddha, part Hendrix, part Garcia, part Django soi-meme. A Pisces... too slippery to hold in your hands, but always offering to lead us into deeper waters. We had him slated to play with his old friend Emmanuel Kassimo and when that fell through he and his trio brought on Biel Ballester as if he were family.

Biel Ballester: What a sweet soul, insightful teacher and gifted musician. I taught him a new English phrase: "to bail someone out". He agreed to join us less than a week before the event. May you all have someone of his caliber and character show up in your moments of need.

Michael Horowitz: As I learn to do new things and new ways of doing old things, Michael is one of my unwitting mentors. The lesson he keeps teaching me by example is this: when you've chosen to do something, take the time to do it really thoroughly and really well. Genuine service and good business can and should go hand in hand. Like the best musicians, he makes it look easy, but I know better.

Dennis Chang: Another unwitting mentor of mine, modeling so many things at once: truly dedicated study, unfailing generosity and utter lack of pretense. From my perspective as organizer, there are no better attributes than these. Dennis has been such a help to so many of us, but no one more than me.

Tim Kliphuis: What a joy to see him really met by another artist – Wawau Adler - on stage. At times like that I am so glad I haven’t tried to push myself as a performer, and equally grateful that there are others who should, who do. The fact that he is, by all accounts, an exceptional teacher, too….well…my cup runneth over.

Ted Gottsegen: Two live radio shows and two mainstage performances, daily teaching and late-night jamming: not a bad run. The best rhythm guitarists all have this in common: they excel at helping others to shine. He did it for Kruno and Vlado, for Wawau and Tim, for everyone he taught and jammed with, and so, for me.

Vlado Mollov: Great guy! I think his solos made me smile more than anyone else’s this week. He goes into a trance when he solos and a genie plays through him with such wit and intelligence, it’s like a little joy-bomb explodes in the space.

John McGann: I got to jam a little with John and for me it was like those old EF Hutton commercials that the boomers among us will remember (“When E F Hutton talks, people listen”). His octave mandolin was a little quieter than the guitars, so I’d find myself literally tilting toward him to hear what he had to say. Mature musicianship is a beautiful thing to behold.

Jared Engel: I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone with a more pure, simple love for the learning and sharing of music than Jared. We had only 2 bass students for the week and he approached it as if he had 15. He played bass for every act without a hitch. I came upon him Sunday morning having been up all night playing.

Kruno Spisic: Kruno had only a short stint with us this year, but he clearly made the most of it. He received a shout-filled standing ovation for his opening set on Saturday night. Someone told me on checkout that his clinic was the best he had all week. I hope he’ll join us for all of Camp next year.

Matt Glaser: So Tim could have Saturday afternoon off, Matt Glaser agreed to teach that day. I walked in on him describing our fingers as “little sausages”, having people sing their solos rather than playing them. I feel really privileged to have had him with us and hope he takes a deeper interest in what we’re up to.

Wawau Adler: Took off his baseball cap when I introduced him to my mother. He gave one of the most impressive and captivating musical performances I have ever seen. What an amazing finish to the week. Note to event producers/promoters: hire this guy.


OK, back to clean up. See ya'll next year!

Andrew
djangoinjune.com
communityguitar.com