Among
nomadic peoples like the gypsies, the oral tradition is central to keeping a
heritage alive. Customs, beliefs, stories and, of course, music must be passed
down from one generation to the next, always honored but continuously evolved
and updated as time marches on. With their new album, Attitude Manouche
(available June 15 on Resilience Music Alliance – pre-order available now), the
Django Festival AllStars carry on that tradition in their own way, as
modern-day virtuoso Samson Schmitt steps into the crucial lead guitar role long
held by his father, legendary gypsy jazz guitarist Dorado Schmitt.
Attitude
Manouche reveals that Samson Schmitt has inherited those vital qualities, and
brings them to a thrilling new take on the gypsy jazz tradition. The Django
Festival AllStars reinterpret Django Reinhardt’s vision through a set of new
music that carries forward their namesake’s vision in a way that both honors
his legacy while giving them a thoroughly contemporary twist.
While the
AllStars’ name represents a community of gifted artists who collaborate in
different line-ups depending on the performance, the quintet on Attitude
Manouche have forged a distinctive voice together as all are featured soloist
which join Schmitt. Ludovic Beier is a renowned accordionist and player of the
accordina, Pierre Blanchard a virtuoso of the violin and Grappelli prodigy, Dou
Dou Cuillerier – scat singer and rhythm guitarist, and the only Italian –
Antonio Licusati on bass: five master musicians with their own innovative
voices within this storied tradition.
“We have a
great passion for playing music together and for trying to create a new sound,”
Beier says. “Every musician is different, but we’ve succeeded in creating a
common music together that lets everybody express ourselves very well. That’s
really important and also very rare.”
The title of
Attitude Manouche reflects the fact that while these French and Italian
musicians may not share Reinhardt’s Manouche heritage by blood, they all
reflect that heritage in their souls. That’s abundantly clear in the set of
mostly original music that makes up the album, which fluidly and spiritedly
combines the gypsy jazz tradition with influences from modern jazz, classical
music, other world music, and even film scores.
The latter
comes to the fore on the album’s sole non-original tune, the main theme from
John Williams’ Academy Award-winning score for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s
List. The AllStars’ rendition not only moving renders an achingly beautiful
piece of music, but pays heartfelt tribute to the gypsy people who were victims
of the Nazi regime. “A lot of gypsies were deported to concentration camps
along with the Jewish community,” Beier explains. “We wanted to pay tribute to
that very dark period of history, so we decided to create an arrangement for
that song mixing gypsy swing with Jewish traditional music, spearheaded by
violinist Pierre Blanchard.” This track in particular coincides strongly with
the mission of Resilience Music Alliance, founded by social and political
activist Steve Ruchefsky, in celebrating the human driven condition of
resilience.
The Django
Festival AllStars’ eclectic and forward-looking repertoire reimagines
Reinhardt’s pioneering sound for modern ears, and in that way, is a fitting
tribute to the icon whose name they proudly bear. “Django passed away more than
50 years ago,” says Pat Philips-Stratta, who produced the album. “But I think
if he was here today he would be exploring new fields and bringing them into
his music. We add new experiences and new influences, but when the audience
listens to our music they can hear Django Reinhardt’s legacy. That’s very
important to us.”
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