What is Gypsy Jazz?!
Question: I'm just curious what that term means as far as the musical characteristics and also who are some artists that I could download to listen to it?
Answers: I'm just curious what that term means as far as the musical characteristics and also who are some artists that I could download to listen to it?
The Gypsy style is a European style, centered mainly around Guitar as the primary solo instrument. Violin was also used a lot in this style. It is a swing based style, that uses a lot of chromaticism...which came from Django's guitar playing technique.. which is the most interesting part of this movement of gypsy jazz. In a fire, Django's hand and leg was badly burned. He basically lost a lot of use of his 4th and pinky finger. He was basically stuck in bed for like 2 years or something, and all he had to do was play guitar. So he developed a 2 finger solo style of playing with his index and middle finger, and his other two fingers he could only use them for chords on a couple of strings.
Here's a great article to give you a good overview of how it all started, and how Django was truely the pioneer here.
http://www.gypsyjazz.net/Article.php?aid...
or
http://www.jazzeddie.f2s.com/gypsy_jazz....
which also talks about some other artists.
Listen to any of the Django Reinhardt Hot Club of France recordings, you'll get it.
Gypsy Jazz is a more accoustic style, usually 2 accoustic guitars, accoustic bass guitar, and violin, clarinet, or both,
the early Django Reinhart/ stefan grapelli stuff is a perfect example