At the Quecumbar

Sunday 17th January – Monday 25th January 2010

CONCERTS AND WORKSHOPS

London’s first – A celebration in honour of the 100th Birthday of Django Reinhardt the legendary Gypsy and guitar genius

A nine-day festival of concerts and workshops featuring Europe’s finest Gypsy and non-Gypsy musicians will be the biggest collection of Gypsy Swing talent in the UK ever.

The event marks a cultural milestone in the history of jazz, celebrating the life of the founder of Gypsy swing, Django Reinhardt, who generated musical waves around the globe that today still influence the 1,000s of guitarists worldwide who follow in his legendary footsteps.

Each performance will take the form of a private concert with audience members able to hear the guitar performed acoustically in an intimate period environment and even meet with performers after the show.

Sylvia Rushbrooke, who is organising the festival, commented: “Django Reinhardt’s impact on 20th Century guitar music is undeniable – musicians as varied as Julian Bream, Les Paul, BB King, George Benson, George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix have all paid tribute to Django as inspiration and innovator. Django’s music is as fresh today as it was 80 years ago. When people hear this music performed live in the intimate setting of a Parisian café – or, even better still – round a camp fire, they find themselves irresistibly seduced by the fierce sweetness of the music, and the verve and skill of its players.”

Workshops are being arranged around London with some of the stars giving guitarists the opportunity to learn from the stars and perhaps for the first time an opportunity to learn directly from the Gypsies themselves who pass the music down by ear only.

Tickets £15 - £35
More news when all artists and sponsors have confirmed

For more info and bookings