In a return to the renowned Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois-sur-Seine (Fountainebleu), Evan Christopher teamed up with master guitarist, Fapy Lafertin. Old friends Dave Kelbie and Sebastien Girardot helped present a showcase of Reinhardt classics, originals and New Orleans repertoire. The result was a unique blend of two traditions, Gypsy Jazz guitar and New Orleans clarinet.
Place: Festival Django Reinhardt
Date & Time: Saturday, 7 July, 2018
Line-Up: Evan Christopher, Fapy Lafertin w/Dave Kelbie & Sébastien Girardot
The great Django Reinhardt spent the last years of his life near Fountainebleau about an hour south of Paris. Since 1968, the area has hosted a festival in his honor. It had been a several years since I'd been there with Django à la Créole, and my return had a similar theme: A meeting between the New Orleans style and the the swing style pioneered by Django.
The 2018 festival sponsored this debut collaboration between Fapy Lafertin and me. In my opinion, Fapy is the most musical exponents of the Swing Manouche tradition. Our late afternoon set started in direct sunlight which presented small challenges because of how clarinet reacts to heat vs how stringed instruments do, but the energy was great. The quartet recorded in 2019 for Paris-based Camille Productions.
