DJANGO's RHYTHM- By Michael Dun (DVD) In the world of Gypsy Jazz, the original Quintette of the Hot Club of France achieved an energy output seldom equaled or surpassed for 7 decades or so. Django wanted to have two rhythm guitars behind him when he soloed to give him a full sound. Then when Grappelli soloed, Django would interject himself between Grappelli and the rhythm guitar section. From this vantage point, he would 'push' Grappelli with a series of well placed shots, shuffles, and turnarounds that would have the effect of driving the group to a greater energy output as the song approached its conclusion. In this DVD, the classic 4-to-the-bar rhythm is broken down into four separate unsable styles. After that, Django's syncopated rhythm shots are analyzed and presented by example from a simple backbeat to 2-bar long syncopated strums. My own philosophy is that the rhythm guitar section is the most important component of the Gypsy Jazz group. The rhythm guitar should be in a position to drive and not follow the group. The information contained in this DVD will give you the rhythmic tools to infuse the sound with the energy that this genre of music deserves. 35 Minutes, DVD.
Comments
(in full disclosure I don't have a stake in Dennis DVDs I think are good resources though.)
However, the discussion we had over coffee this morning is that we can't just pick this out ourselves from our favorite GJ materials. We need proper instruction, and will be doing a lot of homework to prepare for Gonzalo's Gypsy Swing Workshop at Djangofest LA in April.
We just need to pick a place and start. My skillset is more advanced than hers, so our choice of materials will differ. Further, she is more than happy to just play rhythm or sing, while I handle all the "fancy work."
We are breathing this stuff full-time for the past few weeks. I had to listen to some vintage blues-rock music yesterday for work (really!) and it sounded so foreign to me.
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Denis Chang's DVD, sounds exactly like what you need, he starts from the very basics and ends on the advanced tricks, with this video you'll learn all you need to play a good pompe and beyond. Well worth the $$$
To me this is THE essential rhythm DVD.
Afterwards I'd definitely get Michael Horowitz' book, it's like an encyclopedia and you can get deeper and deeper into advanced chords, different schools of rhythm, more tricks, transcriptions, the whole enchilada!
I paid 4 or 5 times as much for the Denis Chang video and it has easily 10 times the info. It's like buying a couple of months of lessons. I'm glad I bought them both, but if I were to recommend one, Denis' is definitely more comprehensive. He's a great teacher.
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