FEATURING EUROPEAN VIRTUOSOS
OF ACOUSTIC GYPSY GUITAR.
In Western Europe there exists a vibrant sub-culture of little-known
musicians who are quietly reviving the nearly forgotten artform
commonly referred to in years past as “EuroSwing.”
Inspired by such figures as the late gypsy guitar legend Django
Reinhardt and his long-time collaborator and bandmate in Le
Quintette du Hot Club de France, the equally-legendary jazz
violinist Stéphane Grappelli, EuroSwing came to prominence
in the 1930s-40s turning the international jazz world on its
ear.
Today, guitarists such as child-prodigy
and authentic gypsy Jimmy
Rosenberg from The Netherlands (who was only thirteen-years-old
at the time some of these recordings were made), as well as
fellow contemporaries including Scandinavia’s Hot
Club de Norvège (featuring Oslo’s resident
guitar wizard Jon Larsen), the Amsterdam-based Robin
Nolan Trio (who the late Beatle George Harrison regularly
hired to perform at private parties he hosted on the grounds
of his English country estate), and the spell-binding French
master of jazz-manouche, Moreno,
put a new twist on an old theme, waxing nostalgia as they “outpick”
their American counterparts with acute freshness. Settle in
for a musical journey back to the old country, as these “tunesmiths”
conjure up images of Parisian sidewalk cafes, cobblestone canal
streets of old Amsterdam, and young lovers strolling down the
Spanish Steps of Rome. Chances are, you have never heard guitarists
play with such “joie de vivre,” until now.
