Raangy may be only 22 years old by the time DiJ 2018 rolls ’round, but when your last name is Debarre, the usual ways of reckoning “experience” just don’t apply. He will join us this year in the same position he holds in his father’s ensembles: specialist in guitare rythmique. For those of our Django Campers who want to focus exclusively on the crucial and challenging role of rhythm guitarist in a Gypsy jazz ensemble, Raangy will be your tutor when everyone else is off working on Hot Club hot licks.
The videos that follow all feature Raangy accompanying his father and could serve any aspiring GJ rhythm guitarist as a sampler of just some of the skills/styles to be explored with him:
This first video is particularly clear in that Raangy is performing in a duo with his dad. In it we have mostly la pompe at various tempos, and a couple ballads. If you’d like to jump to some examples:
Here we have Raangy in a larger formation demonstrating a Gypsy bolero on the Django classic, Troublant Bolero.
At 29:50 in this video, Marius Apostol kicks off a Gypsy bossa. Raangy is joined on rhythm guitar here by another of his dad’s favorite accompanists, Tchavolo Hassan.
Given that the valse is a specialty of his father’s we’ll also ask him to include that rhythmic style among his offerings. I haven’t found a good video of him to demo that, however—one more reason to come work with him in person.