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Here's where you'll find short introductions to the splendid collection of North American and international artists who will be joining us at Django in June in 2010 as teachers and performers. As you will see, some are old friends of ours, but many will be joining us for the first time. Most will be with us as instructors for all of Django Camp and offering performances and clinics later in the week. You can either scroll down this page to visit everyone or, if you prefer, just click on an individual's name in the table below to jump to him or her directly. We will bring more staff on board if registration allows, so please let us know early if you are planning to attend.
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| Violin | |
| Joscho Stephan (Germany) | Tim Kliphuis (Holland) |
| Biel Ballester (Spain) | Evan Price (Hot Club of San Francisco; Turtle Island Quartet) |
| Gustav Lundgren (Sweden) | Mandolin |
| Aurelien Bouly (France; Tarne Spilari) | Jamie Masefield (Vermont, Jazz Mandolin Project) |
| Gonazalo Bergara (Argentina via California) | Accordion |
| Michael Horowitz (Seattle, Djangobooks) | Rob Reich (San Francisco; Gaucho) |
| And - with your registration - more to come! | Bass |
| Martin Sjöstedt (Sweden) |
Biel Ballester : Guitar |
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Biel Ballester last joined us at Django in June in 2007 and it will be a treat to have him back. A Spaniard - or perhaps we should say, a Catalan - Biel is a highly trained musician. It just so happens that most of his formal training is in classical guitar! After extensive studies with Alex Garrobe, Fernando Rodriguez and many other contemporary masters of the classical guitar, Biel finished curriculum at Barcelona’s superior conservatorium in 2000. Largely self taught in the Gypsy jazz style, Biel has very quickly gotten the attention of those who follow the contemporary GJ scene. He has performed and recorded with some of the best players in Europe today including Stochelo Rosenberg, Robin Nolan, Jon Larsen and another of this year's featured artists, Gustav Lundgren. Several of his recordings have been included in recent compilations of the best in Gypsy jazz, including The Hot Club Sampler on Hot Club records. An inventive composer and arranger as well as performer, Biel's take on the tradition showcases sophistication without pretense, respect without slavishness. He'll be with us for all of Django Camp.
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Gustav Lundgren : Guitar |
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Gustav Lundgren comes to us, as so many fine things do these days, thanks to the internet. I forget the chain of links that led me to his Django Project recordings (with superb accordionist Anders Larsson) but it only took a few short audio clips for me to start inquiring as to his availability. As it turned out, Gustav is old friends with Biel Ballester — excuse enough to feature them together for one of the weekend performances this year. Gustav was born in Stockholm in 1980 and started to play guitar at age 12. By 16 he was playing clubs around Stockholm and at 19 first toured Spain. Since then he has toured Japan, the USA, England, France, Syria, Turkey, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway & Finland with different jazz groups. A skilled player in a variety of jazz styles, Gustav's Django Project dates back to 2004 and reflects a deep appreciation of Django's contribution to the broader jazz tradition. This will be his first visit to Django in June, and he'll be with us for all of Django Camp.
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Aurelien Bouly : Guitar |
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A French gypsy, Aurelien Bouly spent enthralled hours of his childhood at the renowned Chope des puces as a who's-who of Parisian Gypsy jazz jammed the afternoon away. For some, the childhood fantasy of growing up to be a jazz guitarist dissipates with time; for Aurelien, it became years of hard study — and a reality. Now co-leader (with violinist Sharl Dragon) of the group Tarne Spilari, Aurelien learned in the gypsy fashion: by watching closely, by memorizing Django's solos from recordings, by making the annual pilgrimage to Samois-sur-Seine. He credits other gypsies with widening his sense of what is good, and what is possible: Tchavalo Schmitt, Raphaël Fays, Stochelo Rosenberg, Angelo Debarre. Longtime Django in June instructor Denis Chang first brought Aurelien's music to my attention. I was attracted not only by his fine playing in the traditional style but by his obvious passion for sharing what he knows. In addition to numerous online instructional videos and short workshops, Bouly offers a weeklong Gypsy jazz guitar intensive in France every year. But save on airfare and join him closer to home instead: he'll be with us for all of Django Camp.
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Gonzalo Bergara : Guitar |
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One of Django in June's perennial favorites, Gonzalo Bergara will join us again this year as both a teacher and performer. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Gonzalo moved to the US in 1999 and has since played his blues and jazz from coast to coast and throughout Europe. Now a fixture on the North American Gypsy jazz scene, Gonzalo has recorded albums with Dan Hicks and Linwood Slim, leads his own band, the LA-based Trio Gonzalo, and held the rhythm guitar chair in the John Jorgenson Quintet for a couple of years. His first album as a leader (Porteña Soledad) has revealed him not only as a fine player, but a tasteful composer and arranger as well. He wowed us last year in a mainstage performance with his quartet; check out a couple of the videos from that performance below. He'll be back this year for all of Django Camp. |
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Michael Horowitz: Guitar |
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Time it was, if you didn't have direct access to an instructor playing in the traditional Gypsy style you were to left to your own devices when it came to figuring out how Django got his distinctive sound, how he moved across the fingerboard, or how he and his accompanists approached rhythm guitar. With the publication of his Gypsy Picking, Michael changed all that and, in one fell rest stroke, raised the bar for written Gypsy jazz instructional materials everywhere. (I exempt the Gypsies’ own oral tradition from the sphere of his influence. But how many of us have— like Michael—had access to that?) Since then, his Djangobooks publishing company and web site have continued to provide an extraordinary array of resources for students and fans of this rich tradition. Michael will be back at Django in June again this year, joining us on the weekend as a special guest clinician and peerless purveyor of all things Gypsy jazz, including a large selection of books, CDs, DVD's, picks and strings. Get it while it's here! |
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Tim Kliphuis: Violin |
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Our old friend and Django Camp veteran Tim Kliphuis began to make his mark on the international Gypsy jazz scene by recording and touring with the great Fapy Lafertin starting in 1999. Their collaborations include one of my personal favorite Gypsy jazz CD's, Fleur D'Ennui. Since then Tim has performed and recorded with many of the top-tier GJ guitarists such as Stochelo Rosenberg, Angelo DeBarre, Robin Nolan and Gary Potter. A recognized expert in the jazz violin styling of Django's most memorable counterpart, Stephane Grappelli, Tim released The Grappelli Tribute in 2005. He offers workshops on Grappelli's style around the world and last year Mel Bay released his instructional book, Stephane Grappelli Gypsy Jazz Violin. Also out last year (you go, Tim!) was his Hot Jazz Violin DVD from Django in June sponsors HyperHip Media. Tim will work with violinists for all of Django Camp and join in at least one of the performances.
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Evan Price: Violin |
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A newcomer to Django in June, Evan Price is steadily becoming one of the most respected jazz violinists of his generation. Hailing from Detroit, MI, his musical background includes some earnest dues-paying in a variety of genres. From square dance bands to string quartets, from jamming with blues bands to busking in Greektown, Evan's youthful pursuits all informed his violin-playing and left him with a deep love of chamber music in all forms. They also landed him ten-year stint with the world-renowned, paradigm-shifting jazz ensemble, the Turtle Island Quartet. During his tenure with Turtle Island, Evan gave over five hundred performances and recorded five CD's, two of which—"Four + 4" and “A Love Supreme—The Legacy of John Coltrane”—received Grammy awards in the Classical Crossover category. His Gypsy jazz chops have been honed since 1998 as a member of The Hot Club of San Francisco — one polished and sophisticated outfit (as their video below attests). During his time with HCSF, the group has wowed audiences from Iceland to Mexico and across the United States, and has released six CD's which feature Evan not only as a superb soloist, but as composer and arranger as well. He brings his gifts and passion to us as both teacher and performer for all of Django Camp.
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Jamie Masefield : Mandolin |
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The whole idea of incorporating mandolin into Gypsy jazz calls for a pioneering spirit. The instrument is so right for this music, but so underexplored. Enter, Jamie Masefield, founder of the Jazz Mandolin Project. As Bill Milkowski put it in Jazz Times,"Like mandolinists Mike Marshall and David Grisman before him, Jamie Masefield is challenging notions of what that stringed instrument – forever associated with folk and bluegrass music – can do." Since 1993, JMP has been pushing mando boundaries throughout the US and internationally, now with 6 CD's to their credit. Explorer or not, the Burlington-based Masefield is no stranger to Django country. In 2003 he did a series of performances in NYC with renowned jazz guitarist Marc Ribot performing the music, Reinhardt. In 2006, he co-created MaMaVig with longtime Django-stylist Frank Vignola (guitar) and Gary Mazzaroppi (bass). Jamie has taught Django jazz on mandolin at the Pudget Sound Guitar Workshop and The California Coast Music Camp as well as workshops at many of the biggest festivals in the country. We are pleased to welcome him back for the second time to Django in June. He'll be with us for all of Django Camp.
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Rob Reich : Accordion |
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Another exciting newcomer to Django in June, Rob Reich is an acclaimed accordionist and composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Steeped in many traditions, including jazz, blues, klezmer, and classical music, Rob is a regular member of the hot gypsy-jazz ensemble Gaucho and plays occasionally with The Hot Club of San Francisco. He also plays new original jazz with The Nice Guy Trio, composes circus music for Circus Bella, and is arranger and accordionist for Andrea Fultz' German Projekt (exploring the music of Kurt Weill). Rob will be with us as an instructor for all of Django Camp and he'll no doubt squeeze his way (so to speak) into the weekend performances as well. Welcome, Rob!
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Martin Sjöstedt: Bass |
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Martin Sjostedt often accompanies another of this year's featured artists, guitarist Gustav Lundgren, and they will be joining us together from Sweden. Martin was born in Uppsala in 1978 and at the age of five he began playing the piano. Because of his father's keen interest in jazz, Martin was exposed to the recordings of Armstrong, Basie, Ellington and Miles Davis at an early age. He was introduced to playing the double bass by a friend of the family who loaned him his instrument and by sixteen he was playing the bass with local professional musicians. In 1997 Martin moved to Stockholm to study at the Royal College of Music but the demands for his services as a bass player were so heavy that he was unable to complete his studies! He became the regular bassist with the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra and in consequence had the opportunity of playing with a steady stream of both Swedish and international guest stars. In 2002 Martin formed his own group "Martin Sjöstedt Band" with Magnus Lindgren, pianist Jonas Östholm and drummer Daniel Fredriksson. His conception of bass playing is focused very much on the acoustic sound of the instrument, rooted in the American tradition of Jimmy Blanton and Ray Brown. This will be his first time with us at Django in June, and he'll be with us for all of Django Camp.
Thanks to the Western New England Double Bass Society for sponsoring the bass component of Django in June! |
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Thanks to our Sponsors! (Give 'em a click and a visit)
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Joseph Santry, O.D. |
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