So I had the good fortune of arriving in Argentina a few weeks ago, in time for the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival! That never happens! Whenever I arrive in a new country, I’m always greeted by “Oh, if only you had been here last weekend! What a shame!“  But not this time, hoorah!

Anyway, amongst a few other fun concerts (dancing on concrete in the open air), the real standout was a night of SERIOUS jazz manouche, with the Angelo Debarre & Ludovic Beier Trio, supported by Buenos Aires gypsy jazz band, Swing Tzigane. Angelo Debarre (gypsy guitar) and Ludovic Beier (accordian) are the REAL DEAL!! These are the guys keeping Django’s spirit alive. Watching them play from my second row theatre seat was both pure agony (they swung hard, sitting still was frustrating) and sheer bliss (I didn’t want to take my eyes off their fingering – the speed! the precision! the range!).

A snippet from the festival programme:

This trio constitutes one of the most exquisite and fresh expressions of the powerful manouche tradition, bound to the legacy of the great Django. From Gus Viseur to Jo Privat, from Ferré to Reinhardt, accordion and manouche guitar have made an excellent couple. It will come as no surprise, then, that the gathering of Ludovic Beier and Angelo Debarre, with the added plus of an impeccable rhythm section led by Tchavolo Hassan, should turn into a manouche extravaganza. Virtuosity, accordion fluency, accuracy, colour and the instantly identifiable personality of the guitar: the fusion of these results in sheer brilliance.

Instead of trying to describe how wonderful it was, I’m just going to let them speak for themselves. Here are a few clips I filmed on the night. Firstly, the Buenos Aires group Swing Tzigane, who are really wonderful, love that fiddle! Tzigane is another name for gypsy (also Manouche, Romanichel, Bohemian, Zingari, etc.). They are playing the tune Avalon:

Next we have the French trio, with lead guitarist Angelo Debarre, accordionist Ludovic Beier and rhythm guitarist Tchavolo Hassan:

And finally, the international Trio joined by Swing Tzigane in an impromptu rendition of Minor Swing:

Ahh, heaven!

www.myspace.com/angelodebarre
www.ludovicbeier.moonfruit.fr
www.myspace.com/ludovicbeier