100 Years of Django
with Julian Lage, Victor Lin and Jorge Roeder
Victor Lin, violin; Julian Lage, guitar; Jorge Roeder,
bass
Wednesday July 28, 7:30 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium 
Tickets: $32 general | $18 students | TAKE 5!
Inside Jazz: 100 Years of Django
Speaker: Julian Lage, 6:30 pm (free with concert ticket)
Django Reinhardt was the first European musician to exert a powerful
influence on American jazz. Born in Belgium in 1910, Reinhardt spent
most of his youth in gypsy settlements on the outskirts of Paris, where
he taught himself to play banjo, violin, and guitar. He was already
an accomplished guitarist when, at the age of 18, he was badly injured
saving his pregnant wife from a caravan fire and lost the use of two
fingers on his left hand. He was forced to develop an idiosyncratic
guitar technique, which relied on his two remaining fingers and is
envied and imitated by ten-fingered guitarists to this day. The
urbane, lilting tones of his guitar and his ornamented, melodic improvisations
defined the genre known as "gypsy jazz," which flourished
in Europe in the 1930's and 40's and launched Reinhardt to
international fame. His style of playing "had such presence and
power and imagination that...he surpassed his very
instrument" according to the New Yorker magazine, and its combining
of the chromatic harmony and propulsive guitar style of gypsy music
with the melodies and rhythms of swing captivated listeners worldwide.
Guitarist Julian Lage was Grammy-nominated in 2009 for Sounding
Point, his first album as leader; the SF Chronicle said the CD "demonstrates
a jaw-dropping stylistic range and thrilling technique." In
addition, he is well known to Festival audiences for his duo work with
Taylor Eigsti. Last year however, Lage and fellow SJW faculty Victor
Lin and Jorge Roeder also took the stage in a trio format, and the
chemistry between them was thrilling. There was no question that we
had to bring them back for a full-length performance! This tribute
concert turns the spotlight on these three exciting young musicians
and the music of the incomparable Django Reinhardt.
Listen:
Django/Lage – "Daphne"
Django/Lage – "HCQ Strut"
Django/Lage – "Swing 48"
watch:
Django Reinhardt performing "Swing Night," 1937
Julian Lage Group performing "Lil' Darlin'" (feat. Jorge Roeder & Tupac Mantilla)
Supported by George & Lilo Miller.
Photo Credit: Joel Simon.
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