tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56687238266884988492024-03-19T10:40:25.613+01:00The Gypsy Jazz DiariesAlexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-61818150953284040802011-11-19T10:40:00.001+01:002011-11-19T13:54:26.422+01:00How to learn to play Gypsy Jazz Part II<b>It's getting better all the time!</b><br />
<a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School</a><br />
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In earlier posts I talked about the number of online Gypsy Jazz schools invading the internet nowadays. Stochelo's: <a href="http://www.rosenbergacademy.com/">Rosenberg Academy</a> , Lollo and Fapy's <a href="http://www.gypsyjazzacademy.com/">Gypsy Jazz Academy</a> etc. I enrolled in all of them to take a look at what they had to offer and to make my quest to become a Gypsy Jazz guitar player a little easier, and they did, although the perfect learning formula was not yet achieved. <br />
Stochelo, Fapy and Lollo are great guitar players (the best) but they have one little flaw; they are not really internet teachers. They can show you what they do in close up's and slow-motion, write out tabs, respond to your video's in a great and very helpful way, but still the question remains; <b>Were do I start? </b><br />
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The answer to this question came into my mailbox the other day when Yakoov Hoter asked me to take a look at his <a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School</a> training program. <br />
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Finnaly! A comprehensive, step by step, level by level, well arranged easy to understand and clear way to learn all the basics about Gypsy Jazz! No waiting for UPS trucks to deliver your DVD's. No enrollment costs. No monthly paying for your participation in a program. Just easy to purchase and download lessons with a simple and effective name: <a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School</a> created by Yakoov Hoter from the Israeli Gypsy Jazz ensemble; Swing de Gitanes.<br />
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oCQtIZcZ5dY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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I downloaded some of the lessons (this might take some time due to the large filesizes of the lessons) but after one hour I was ready to go. The approximatly one hour lessons supported by a PDF file with notations and tabs break down the whole Gypsy Jazz genre in an understandable way. Lesson one will teach you everything about La Pompe and in following lessons you will learn about chords, progressions, intervals, arpeggios, tremolos, vibratos and teach you how to improvise. <br />
Finnaly by the end of the eleventh lesson you will be able to play beautifull compositions like <i>Kali Sara</i> and <i>J'attendrai</i>. <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School</a> Preview Lesson 1</b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School</a> Preview Lesson 11</b><br />
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You can download every lesson seperately so you can skip what you allready know (Although I think it is important to follow all the lessons to really understand the program, but it's no must.) <br />
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<b>In short: At last a well designed Gypsy Jazz learning program thaught by a professional Gypsy Jazz guitarist in English. The lessons are very similar to Samy Daussat's training program's but those lessons are only available in French. And although <a href="http://www.hyperhipmedia.com/HMO_home.html">Denis Chang's video's</a> are now also available for download they are I think less easy to understand for the abosolute beginner than the lessons on <a href="http://www.gypsyjazzschool.com/">Gypsy Jazz School.</a></b> <br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-89080326875199894452011-09-22T16:20:00.001+02:002011-11-05T18:27:24.274+01:00Short documentary about Gypsy Jazz I made!<b>Haven't been practicing my guitar playing lately. This was mostly due to the fact that I was working really hard on this little project:</b><br />
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/30244459?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=0" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
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<a href="http://www.moncqrecords.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102%3Athomas-baggerman-trio-le-weekend&catid=43%3Ajazz-records&Itemid=57&lang=en
"><b>ORDER THE NEW CD "LE WEEKEND" BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK!</b></a>
This mini-documentary shows the passion that my friend and guitar teacher Thomas Baggerman has for his guitar playing as well as the love and determination he shows to get his Trio's debut album "Le Weekend" recorded. It also shows their last trip to the yearly Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine and contains a selection of their newly recorded work. The full 12 minute documentary will be out somewhere in october 2011 so keep your eyes on this blog if you're interested. You can also follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Alex_Koning">Twitter: Alex_Koning</a> for realtime news updates about the project. (<a href="http://vimeo.com/user5045240/channels">Or this VIMEO Channel dedicated to it</a>) Be sure to share a link to this post to all your Gypsy Jazz friends!!! Thank you!<br />
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<b>Donations:</b>
The short-documentary "Le Weekend" is an independent production financed by myself in order to promote the trio as well as the fabulous Sinti / Manouche Gypsy Jazz music. If you wich to support the promotion of this underexposed musical genre and help me break even on the production costs a donation will be greatly appreciated! (to do so click the PayPal Donate button underneath the video please)<br />
Thank you!
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Alex<br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-24729481295148463382011-07-22T13:01:00.002+02:002011-11-05T18:30:24.922+01:00New Album: Thomas Baggerman Trio "Le Weekend"<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26729054?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
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<a href="http://www.moncqrecords.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102%3Athomas-baggerman-trio-le-weekend&catid=43%3Ajazz-records&Itemid=57&lang=en
"><b>ORDER THE NEW CD "LE WEEKEND" BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK!</b></a>
Proudly presenting a short preview on the debut album by Dutch upcoming Gypsy Jazz talent Thomas Baggerman and his trio (my guitar teacher)! The album "Le Weekend" will be released September 2011 and is a subtle mix of Swing, Bossa, Traditional and Ballads. The catchy title track, written by Thomas himself, already created a little buzz on the Samoreau camping site this year at the Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois.<br />
Thomas is a dedicated player with an articulate and meticulous melodic phrasing. Heavily inspired by Stochelo Rosenberg, Adrien Moignard and more recently Les Doigts de L'Homme and of course Bireli Lagrene, his goal to make the guitar weep is one he achieves more and more often.<br />
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Hope you will enjoy! I know I did!!<br />
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Cheers!<br />
The Gypsy jazz Diaries <br />
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more information on the Thomas Baggerman Trio:<br />
<a href="http://www.thomasbaggermantrio.com
">www.thomasbaggermantrio.com</a><br />
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And be sure to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-Baggerman-Trio/104419856273410?ref=ts">like their Facebook page</a> to keep you posted on the upcoming release!<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-Baggerman-Trio/104419856273410?ref=ts">Thomas Baggerman Trio on Facebook</a><br />
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PS: Very proud to say also; I made the video ;-)<br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-3951742935678852232011-06-30T12:03:00.003+02:002011-11-05T18:24:52.938+01:00Second time Samois was great!!!Check out <b>pictures</b> of our trip to <b>Samois</b> this year, were we visited the annual Festival Django Reinhardt!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iuPblcYqcF8pWVIgjntmdmMdn3Y3e01M3vv-CPUYCCrRbMnN5sKI9nSX4d2IKHcjXgwtzcrnK8HuGb80nzVI6X0FQ9jzpOiCOi7Vf38ZetF0TA3YzUtmj7QR_9OdsctGaJodLi7UOQTe/s1600/Samois2011-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="267" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iuPblcYqcF8pWVIgjntmdmMdn3Y3e01M3vv-CPUYCCrRbMnN5sKI9nSX4d2IKHcjXgwtzcrnK8HuGb80nzVI6X0FQ9jzpOiCOi7Vf38ZetF0TA3YzUtmj7QR_9OdsctGaJodLi7UOQTe/s400/Samois2011-21.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Follow <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150355597864622.416392.502739621&l=ad22dc5155">this link</a> to see the entire photo album!!<br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-58757801270659587342011-02-16T21:10:00.001+01:002011-11-19T12:13:28.859+01:00Nuages<i><b>Gypsy Jazz needs more musicians and less soldiers. (Adrien Moignard)</b></i><br />
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A little update on my going along my Gypsy Jazz quest; I enrolled in two wonderfull online Gypsy Jazz courses: <a href="http://www.gypsyjazzacademy.com/">http://www.gypsyjazzacademy.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.rosenbergacademy.com/">http://www.rosenbergacademy.com/</a> Both of them help me make loads of progress due to the clear interfaces and wonderfull interaction with teachers like: Fapy Lafertin, Lollo Meier and of course Stochelo Rosenberg. Theire lessons (and those of my personal real life teacher Thomas Baggerman and jam buddy Frédéric Zolnet) combined with feedback from fellow students finaly made me realize a great but yet simple point: <b>Start with an relatively easy song and play it untill it's absolutely right.</b><br />
So I got rid of all the finger breaking solos and started on a low-tempo version of Nuages I found in Samy Daussat's book: <i>Astuces de la guitare Manouche vol. 2 </i> and I started practicing on vibrato, timing, pronounciation of the notes, slides, bends and hammer on's (but not after I got the rythm section right). Then I watched and listened to recordings by Stochelo and Fapy and combined some of theire ideas into my own little intro.....This video is what I came up with so far, it still needs work but I have to get going on my rythm practice so I can try to play along a little at Samois this year. Hope you like it! <br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-45774361951044623122010-12-31T04:37:00.004+01:002011-10-19T11:41:00.639+02:00My grandmother wishes you a Swinging 2011!!!<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/18314572?byline=0&portrait=0" width="440" height="352" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
<b>A marvelous story my grandmother often tells me about Django Reinhardt:</b><br />
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As a young girl during world war II she used to live in Toulouse in the South of France. One night she and her sister in law broke the curfew the occupying Germans had ordered. Pretending to be officer's wives they snook in to an auditorium where Django was performing for the German military forces.<br />
Here eyes still sparkle every time she talks about the wonderful music Django played that night! <br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-27336500310907208272010-12-26T02:25:00.004+01:002011-11-05T18:25:27.614+01:00Documentary<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=18085142&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=18085142&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/18085142">Het Thomas Baggerman Trio - "Minor Swing" by D.Reinhardt</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user5045240">Alexander Koning</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br />
So I thought I'd post a little sneak preview from my new project in wich I combine my passion about Gypsy Jazz with my love for documentary filmmaking. In this clip my guitar teacher Thomas Baggerman and his Trio (who are some of the main characters in the film) play theire version of Django's "Minor Swing".<br />
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<a href="http://www.thomasbaggermantrio.com/">www.thomasbaggermantrio.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-53339618221598727612010-11-30T22:46:00.001+01:002011-02-19T11:10:46.808+01:00Jimmy's back!<b>Jimmy Rosenberg performing again at BIMHUIS Amsterdam!</b><br />
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A collection of the videos on Youtube made from the Jimmy's guest appearance at the "Three of kind" concerts in Amsterdam wich I was lucky enough to attend to.<br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-24167442981357510922010-11-29T22:37:00.002+01:002011-02-19T11:10:46.809+01:00A night in town!<b>50 people and; Bireli, Stochelo, Paulus</b><br />
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I couldn't believe what I saw last night when I accidentaly came by an add for this "Three of kind concert" in my hometown Utrecht. Only 50 people in the audience and the line-up: Stochelo Rosenberg, Bireli Lagrene, Paulus Schafer!!! Don't people understand great music? <br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-69877699713445483772010-09-12T18:01:00.003+02:002011-11-05T18:27:35.403+01:00My new "La Fée" D-Hole Gypsy jazz guitar!<span style="font-weight:bold;">A real beauty!</span><br />
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<object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/9Ce8N8a_iNU/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Ce8N8a_iNU?fs=1&hl=nl_NL"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Ce8N8a_iNU?fs=1&hl=nl_NL" width="480" height="295" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br />
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Proudly presenting my new "La Fée" guitar handcrafted by the excellent young french luthiers from "<a href="http://www.guitareslafee.com/">Guitares La Fée</a>". Carefully chosen after the great help<br />
from the guys at "<a href="http://www.guitare-village.com/">Guitare village</a>" in Domont near Paris. Playing a little intro to "Minor Blues" by legendary Django Reinhardt. Now the only thing left to do is learn how to play it ;-)<br />
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<a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-36933727578782634202010-08-14T09:40:00.000+02:002010-09-14T09:57:08.919+02:00The Gypsy Jazz video collection; Concerts<span style="font-weight:bold;">Keep an eye on this post as it will be updated with interresting Gypsy Jazz concert video's from time to time!</span><br /><br /><object width="480" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xbwszl_django-reinhardt-connexion_music?additionalInfos=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xbwszl_django-reinhardt-connexion_music?additionalInfos=0" width="480" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbwszl_django-reinhardt-connexion_music">Django Reinhardt connexion</a></b><br /><i>Geüpload door <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/ouakthecat">ouakthecat</a>. - <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/nl/channel/music/featured/1">Ontdek andere muziek video's.</a></i><br /><br /><br /><embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=5490535224247906088&hl=nl&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed><br />Gipsy Jazz guitar masters, a beautiful example of Stochelo Rosenberg and Romane playing togheter.<br /><embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=1919510006661812466&hl=nl&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed><br />The legendary Gipsy Project organized by Bireli Lagrene.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-67315721120399616062010-05-03T03:57:00.004+02:002010-09-12T17:59:47.548+02:00Work in progress : MINOR SWING<span style="font-weight:bold;">Yeah, I know, but I just couldn't help myself....</span><br /><br />Aldough I now really understand the importance of good technique, and taking it slow at first, I could not help myself recording my efforts on "Minor Swing" that I was working on for some time now. It is a way to celebrate my first six monts of guitar playing I think. Anyway, I won't play Minor Swing for awhile, It's now back to Gypsy Picking technique and rhythm practice.<br /><object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/1fWtLlS2Cjw/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1fWtLlS2Cjw&hl=nl_NL&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1fWtLlS2Cjw&hl=nl_NL&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-83083717305607475032010-04-30T09:51:00.005+02:002011-09-27T14:19:21.466+02:00How to learn to play Gypsy Jazz.<span style="font-weight:bold;">Learning to learn...</span>
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<br />So I have been practicing for awhile now, and some problems arise. It's not hard to find Gypsy Jazz lesson resources on the internet, and so I found myself with a great collection of studybooks, DVD's, online Howto's and Guitar Pro files stacked up in front of me and I started to lose track. <span style="font-style:italic;">Where to start?</span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZaRw7LH3UqusGcKyj23eIJfSfb9wrD_p9v1Rw19JuJFRJjNvuxBM-7RzTLoq6O5JiW1oHkhdviOFFikqfF6ORgRhglxbTiO5bvTeN-jeauMH9Iv5iiEnAcaHsjNoS0UrgbGRArmcyP4c/s1600/DSC06157.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZaRw7LH3UqusGcKyj23eIJfSfb9wrD_p9v1Rw19JuJFRJjNvuxBM-7RzTLoq6O5JiW1oHkhdviOFFikqfF6ORgRhglxbTiO5bvTeN-jeauMH9Iv5iiEnAcaHsjNoS0UrgbGRArmcyP4c/s400/DSC06157.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516317489091383762" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">A selection of my Gypsy Jazz studybooks</span>
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<br />According to my teacher Thomas the answer was; <span style="font-weight:bold;">Technique!</span
<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The key to good Gypsy Jazz playing absolutely lies in the technique that differs completely from other guitar styles.</span> First there's the right wrist angle needed to free the top of the guitar and allow it to produce as much sound as possible (the nature of this lies in the fact that Django Reinhardt used to be a banjo player, when he switched to the guitar as a jazz instrument he needed the produce as much volume as possible to be heard in the ensemble since electric guitars were not yet invented.) And then there's the swept picking style that gives all the character to Gypsy Jazz, the pick is used to hammer on the strings a bit like its done inside a piano, this is also for volume purposes. A good control of your right hand or "La Plume" (the feather) as it's called is absolutely unbearable in the genre and a much discussed skill in the Gypsy Jazz scene.
<br />The other important thing to realize are the typical chord shapes en the vertical descent during scales and arpeggios on the guitar neck. A lot of these unique techniques come straight from the fact that Django, due to a fire that burned his caravan, only had two functioning fingers on his left hand. When you look well at Gypsy Jazz fingerings and remenber this fact, it will help you understand how the music works.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZH1T8CTlIh1CeaWjtG_ii5-d3471Mf85SU7YilM1z9v_yTKrXv7pQP363mXnPifpWKgxSGCqLT6kiSDXRF0mHZPlmz2g2CnrPCmuYNaB7ixnhF5IPa0NPm9qY9qig8sOWqeVh1YuF8V1v/s1600/django"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZH1T8CTlIh1CeaWjtG_ii5-d3471Mf85SU7YilM1z9v_yTKrXv7pQP363mXnPifpWKgxSGCqLT6kiSDXRF0mHZPlmz2g2CnrPCmuYNaB7ixnhF5IPa0NPm9qY9qig8sOWqeVh1YuF8V1v/s400/django" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516669289855349698" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Django Reinhardt and his two finger technique</span>
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<br />Back to the study material;</span>
<br />Knowing this now, and talking to my teacher about it he recommended two useful resources: <a href="http://shoppingcart.djangobooks.com/ecom-prodshow/gypsypicking.html">Michael Horrowitz's Gypsy Picking</a> and <a href="http://www.hyperhipmedia.com/HM0006.html">Denis Chang's the art of accompaniment</a>. I myself would add <a href="https://shoppingcart.djangobooks.com/item--Sammy-Daussat-and-Denis-Roux-Super-D%C3%A9butant-Swing-Manouche-In-French-CD-DVD--daussat-super-debutant-swing-manouche.html">Samy Daussat's Swing Manouche Super Debutant</a> (only available in French) because it has some very easy to play but very characteristic tunes in it.
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<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">A tune from Samy Daussat's book.</span>
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<br />This is for me the base I use to learn to play Gypsy Jazz. Wrong technique (so I've been told) can take years to be corrected again, and I really would like to avoid this.
<br />So it was back to square one for me, the few months I had been practicing were not all lost but I had to leave my "Minor Swing" solo practice to play open string exercises. This might seem a little boring at first, but after a few weeks sweep picking was almost natural to me. Even when trying to play some easy Nirvana tunes I had practiced when first playing the guitar I found myself doing it in the Gypsy Jazz sweep picking style automaticly.
<br />Others might say that in the real Gypsy Jazz tradition learning to play good rhythm is the first thing you do, and of course good rhythm playing techniques are very important and you should use a great deal of your practice time playing along rhythm sessions to your favourite Django recordings. But I don't see why you shouldn't learn soloing and rhythm at the same time. Important is to get good at both.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Conclusion:</span> I find that good Gypsy Jazz playing starts with good technique, a little like the "wax on, wax of" story in the old karate kid movies; it might seem boring and useless at first, but will payoff loads when you finally get to realy play.
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<br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/29420991?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><br />
See the trailer of the new documentary about Gypsy Jazz I'm making!Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-16042558117355125012010-04-15T17:17:00.002+02:002010-09-12T17:50:58.322+02:00How Youtube changed everything....<span style="font-weight:bold;">Denis told me about Thomas.</span><br /><br />I somtimes asked myself if I was doing the right thing writing this blog. I mean, there are some visitors that seem interrested, and it's fun for me to have as a souvenir. But could it really be helpful to the way I learn to play Gypsy Jazz. And as a matter of fact <span style="font-style:italic;">it actualy did</span>! Here's what happened:<br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kiwawW_g28&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kiwawW_g28&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br /><br />I posted this video of me improvising on licks from the Denis Chang learning DVD. I got one reply wich came from Denis Chang himself. He recommended seeing a good friend of his who could help me out with the basic technique. And this is how I met Thomas Baggerman. A brilliant young Gadjo guitar player who was able to tell and show me everything there is to know about the right technique (I will talk about the importance of this in another post)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUi-JL0qNe8LozxDV4d86O2VjrpaCS5DmEM38cXHHfn_90LnikaQxuR01OwjF7J2mOJwVZWkLlsYe_k5WPuV4upXbKOWa76UkZDdD8bb9vd6WMgl5DfWL0Ra9BWqhhGBn5337ISXt3_0a/s1600/Denis+Thomas"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUi-JL0qNe8LozxDV4d86O2VjrpaCS5DmEM38cXHHfn_90LnikaQxuR01OwjF7J2mOJwVZWkLlsYe_k5WPuV4upXbKOWa76UkZDdD8bb9vd6WMgl5DfWL0Ra9BWqhhGBn5337ISXt3_0a/s400/Denis+Thomas" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516050884172445506" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Thomas Baggerman at a workshop with Denis Chang.</span><br /><br />Now this event changed everything for me since Thomas already had years of experience in the Gypsy Jazz scene he introduced me to numerous Gypsy Jazz festivals and to the Sinti musicians here in Holland, and, even more important he showed me the right way to experience Samois! (more on this in later posts)<br /><br /><object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/1xbYs4iD0Fw/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1xbYs4iD0Fw?fs=1&hl=nl_NL"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1xbYs4iD0Fw?fs=1&hl=nl_NL" width="425" height="344" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"The Thomas Baggerman Trio in action"</span><br /><br />Visit The Thomas Baggerman Trio on:<a href="http://www.thomasbaggermantrio.com/">www.thomasbaggermantrio.com</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-77075552859316395552010-04-08T01:17:00.002+02:002010-05-08T01:22:17.307+02:00Latcho NigloSix months now since I first started playing guitar. Here I practice on a little traditional tune called "Latcho Niglo" from Samy Daussat's book: "Swing Manouche pour super debutant". It will be the last chorus like piece for a while since I now really understand the importance of good basic technique and rhythm playing, so I will now focus on that for the time being! (I promiss)<br /><br /><object style="background-image:url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/NNXKCIOV63A/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NNXKCIOV63A&hl=nl_NL&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NNXKCIOV63A&hl=nl_NL&fs=1" width="480" height="295" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />And a brilliant version by my friend Frédéric:<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PazlfjfhOK0&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PazlfjfhOK0&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-25131631185398239162010-02-15T22:37:00.001+01:002011-09-27T14:31:34.522+02:00Arpeggios and chord progressions....<span style="font-weight:bold;">Working with Denis Chang DVD's;<br /></span><br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kiwawW_g28&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kiwawW_g28&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Practicing connecting arpeggios from the Denis Chang DVD."</span><br /><br />Christmas came early for me last year as I recieved the Denis Chang DVD's I had ordered on <a href="http://www.hyperhipmedia.com/">Hyperhipmedia.com</a> much faster than I had expected. <br />Bumping into Denis Chang and his video lessons while looking for Gypsy Jazz resources on the internet is not that hard. And since he plays togheter with people like Stochelo Rosenberg, Wawau Adler and Tim Kliphuis it must be good , right? So I ordered the whole deal, 5 DVD's on improvisation and accompaniment. Enough to keep me occupied for at least the next two to three years (and probably even longer).<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hiTNDdXUaLY&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hiTNDdXUaLY&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Excerp from the Denis Chang DVD's</span><br /><br />The DVD's turned out to be even better than I eventualy thought. Denis has a clear way to explain all the aspects of Gypsy Jazz. The well arranged menu's make it easy to navigate and learn everything you need to know about Gypsy Jazz one step at a time.<br /><br />After watching the intro and practicing "La pompe" for a while I started with the arpeggios last week. I allready knew some from my Romane book : "L'esprit Manouche" but I had no clue how to combine them. So I was glad Denis showed me. After a few hours of practice I found myself improvising a little tune combining Denis' licks with Romane's and a few of my own I stumbled on whyle playing. And then it occured to me; "I was making music!" Thank you Denis!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRg80TdVcdDCXBCxWmkBiOQSHMXYRNbqQ26WKGNebZhRUZ-CNuzwch3JC4BPNnc3ze4pD_kqq9-azDohykoGcCqWyiwrMTSMDJpP1FFNa9kLN9_5Hhuo3eGQxUOTRwGxV0hRexFwPqOVv/s1600-h/GypsyJazzArpeggio01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRg80TdVcdDCXBCxWmkBiOQSHMXYRNbqQ26WKGNebZhRUZ-CNuzwch3JC4BPNnc3ze4pD_kqq9-azDohykoGcCqWyiwrMTSMDJpP1FFNa9kLN9_5Hhuo3eGQxUOTRwGxV0hRexFwPqOVv/s400/GypsyJazzArpeggio01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438436603180783506" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">An arpeggio I came up with by myself, altough I don't know if it's right, I think it sounds ok.<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>
Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-47876680381474285002010-02-15T18:32:00.002+01:002010-02-17T22:46:03.185+01:00Rakrel Romanes?<span style="font-weight:bold;">To talk the talk;</span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vdaKkAXaBkA&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vdaKkAXaBkA&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Knikker Lagréne singing in Romanes."</span><br /><br />My passion for Gypsy music is not limited to the sounds alone but also to the culture of Roma and Sinti. The ideology of freedom and creative beauty is one loads of us long for. Although sadly the lives of the Rom are often submitted to racism and persecution they still manage to cultivate theire heritage of blessed musicality and their own language spoken from the depths of the Eastern European countrys to the South of France. Romanes is a language wich finds here roots in India just like the Rom do (or Dom as they called themselves at that time). Later the language evolved as the Rom started to travel over Armenia and Eastern Europe. It became a mix of German,Italian, Romanian and Hungarian. A beautiful language very suitable for beautiful songs....<br /> <br /><br />Find translations from English to Romanes in this <a href="http://romani.uni-graz.at/romlex/"> elaborate Romanes Lexicon</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-14399913143224597672010-02-15T11:13:00.005+01:002011-02-19T11:09:53.977+01:00Talking all that Gypsy Jazz....<span style="font-weight:bold;">Freakin' Phrygian;</span><br /><br />Since Gypsy Jazz has alot to do with, eh.....Jazz I thought it might be clever to learn something about this style of music. I had already heard about arpeggios and chord progressions and I slowly start to be able to put both of them together now. Still I was curious so I ran a Google search on "Jazz Guitar".<br /><br />This was one of the first sentences that came out under <span style="font-weight:bold;">beginner</span> lessons:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"This <span style="font-weight:bold;">G Mixolydian scale</span> is the <span style="font-weight:bold;">V</span> of the <span style="font-weight:bold;">C major scale</span>. The<span style="font-weight:bold;"> G Bebop Scale</span> can be played on most <span style="font-weight:bold;">chords that are diatonic to the key of C major, but not on the C major chord itself</span> because the <span style="font-weight:bold;">F is an avoid note for the C major chord"</span>.</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">source:<a href="http://www.jazzguitar.be"> www.jazzguitar.be</a><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />WTF?!!?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfNPA4t1JGwcEKEXVfSeehDgupQwvcTkzry4jp9DxIL79IGh2HoMR3didZUWyyemvOOANLhFIDUN_Z93l9WhlMFe31074k-ruOZMUVXwCC9fX8wXMjFaosPZw7lRnr4b8k9MAO70kxkXc/s1600-h/Bireli+Lagrene+Press+Foto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfNPA4t1JGwcEKEXVfSeehDgupQwvcTkzry4jp9DxIL79IGh2HoMR3didZUWyyemvOOANLhFIDUN_Z93l9WhlMFe31074k-ruOZMUVXwCC9fX8wXMjFaosPZw7lRnr4b8k9MAO70kxkXc/s400/Bireli+Lagrene+Press+Foto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438419860581130930" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Bireli Lagréne, Gypsy Jazz God</span><br /><br />So now what? It all seemed very confusing to me... Talking about this with a musical friend of mine (Frédéric Zolnet) he told me he recognized the problem. <span style="font-style:italic;">Pentatonic, Diatonic, Dominant, Sub Dominant and freakin' Phrygian.</span> But then he told me not to worry. He had read an interview with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir%C3%A9li_Lagr%C3%A8ne">Bireli Lagréne</a> whose answer to the question: "Wich arpeggio do you play over a Deminished Chord?" Simply was "Wich what?! do I play over what?"<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-36280258443921288932010-02-09T17:56:00.000+01:002011-02-19T11:10:06.661+01:00Our second Djam session...."Les Yeux Noirs" from left to right: Nico Hegt, Frédéric Zolnet and myself hanging in there with the chords. <br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/98XyUJ1uvLs&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/98XyUJ1uvLs&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-8117513167719024992010-02-08T15:09:00.000+01:002011-02-19T11:10:46.810+01:00Blow the wistle on em...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Paulus Schäfer Gipsy Band feat. Wattie Rosenberg and Prisor Jazz Band;</span><br /><br />During the cultural Sunday's organized in our city every first Sunday of the month, club Mammoni presented two of the finest Dutch Gypsy Jazz ensembles. First up were Paulus Schäfer and Wattie Rosenberg in a packed club. Togheter with jam buddy Fréderic and his friend Nico we enjoyed the balanced conversation between violin and guitar. During the end of the set an older man came on stage, put four fingers in his mouth and started wistelling to "Les Yeux Noirs" absolutely amazing.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IdifM9yWe1k&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IdifM9yWe1k&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />After that it was up to the Prisor Jazz Band; Years of experience, stereotype looks and an interresting mix between two solo guitars, one Selmer type and one electric Jazz guitar (played by Eddy Grünholtz)created an absolute magical atmosphere filled with pumping rythmes and beautiful warm melodies. Again I was honored to be able to witness such beauty.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vx3tuqGWKdx6x9ERZPUNKTzSROmPJ0xrGYKRws0MQPgxNu-rrtqsllzyW7YbeqxiBjoIqoLoCq_vVu7k1nzmkJFvxcYm1fvnelM6BLOp9P52vzRQQNCxZHGDolrGmVbxO2n7zI0tdFrj/s1600-h/Prisor01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vx3tuqGWKdx6x9ERZPUNKTzSROmPJ0xrGYKRws0MQPgxNu-rrtqsllzyW7YbeqxiBjoIqoLoCq_vVu7k1nzmkJFvxcYm1fvnelM6BLOp9P52vzRQQNCxZHGDolrGmVbxO2n7zI0tdFrj/s400/Prisor01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435876417988154706" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Feigeli Prisor Photo: Gaby Penders<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-50779814926866505102010-02-03T22:50:00.000+01:002011-02-19T11:10:06.662+01:00I hope you like Djammin too.....<span style="font-weight:bold;">My first ever jam session... a sweet defeat;</span><br /><br />After my first lesson with Popy I felt really comfortable practicing today. I was going along nicely with my chord progressions. Put on my Denis Chang DVD and played till it hurt. So when Frédéric mailed me to ask me if I would join him and his new friend Nico for a jam session that night there was not a split second of doubt.<br /><br />I met Frédéric about a month ago when I was looking for a suitable place on the internet to post an add asking around for people in my neighbourhood also suffering from Djangofever. Came out Frédéric had beat me to it. I followded his link and we mailed back and forth for a while, sharing tips, resources and planning to meet up sometime for a genuine Gypsy Jazz jam session at his place.<br /><br />So far so good... so what? You might think...<br /><br />Well... here's what happened;<br /><br />Entering appartment, shaking hands, enjoying drink, putting livingroom table aside... no problem. The wellknown opening tune of "Minor Swing"... Still no sweat... The first chords of "Minor Swing"... Hey! That came out pretty good! Then "Les Yeux Noirs"... oeps, reality check... Nico and Frédéric were long gone as I desperatly tried to follow the grid lying in front of me. Maybe a little to much to soon... Embarassing?, hum, slightly, but whatever...<br />I was glad Frédéric reacted comprehensivly to my incompetence and tried his best to make it easier for me to play the right chords by showing me simplified versions of the real Gypsy Jazz deal (wich he seemed to master pretty well by the way!) I tried my very best to keep up and felt I did not manage to bad the first half hour or so. I tried to play not to loud so any mistake would pass unnoticed, but this was underestimating my newly made jam friends. Arriving to "Ceasar Swing" I started to give up, not wanting to slow down any longer the anticipated fun and extasy of jammin I felt Fédéric and Nico were so eager to experience. <br /><br />And so they played! Wonderfully! <br /><br />Nico with his years of experience and Frédéric with his entousiasm and elborate skills were an absolute blessing to hear and see. I soon got over my little defeat and soacked up the sweetness of being in a place were people play Gypsy Jazz guitar with their heart and soul!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW4O3rygyHlX8nvJ9SXI2iQaDvnwO0TQoDDsFgZssknxGQ4s6sMdD9V_0xQoFwH9g5mOnZ7byu4B7LeprPHMiDrlpo8RR_7r4RMayJTBN9beBpZGCJUs2OZ4yZw4tDoZ1wEdEyqcgGxn-/s1600-h/jammin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW4O3rygyHlX8nvJ9SXI2iQaDvnwO0TQoDDsFgZssknxGQ4s6sMdD9V_0xQoFwH9g5mOnZ7byu4B7LeprPHMiDrlpo8RR_7r4RMayJTBN9beBpZGCJUs2OZ4yZw4tDoZ1wEdEyqcgGxn-/s400/jammin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434159961466754578" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Songs I will have to practice for our next meeting; "Minor Swing", "Les Yeux Noirs" and "Ceasar Swing"</span><br /><br />On my way out Frédéric gave me a short list of grids to practice for our next appointment... so I suggest I stop blogging...and start playing!<br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-32260705068474200782010-02-01T22:20:00.001+01:002010-02-02T15:07:43.584+01:00So he taught me...<span style="font-weight:bold;">My first Gypsy Jazz Guitar lesson;</span><br /><br />After a first appointment that I unfortunately could not attend to I was in for a rematch tonight....<br /><br />I felt strangly calm during the afternoon rush hour, the extra time I had planed getting to my teachers home was slowly ticking away as the cars infront of me wouldn't move an inch. It was only when I got to the final traffic light around the corner of Popy Basily's home that my handpalms started to get slightly damp. I parked my car next to a big trailer home at the entrance of the small Sinti settlement and wandered on to the alley between the houses. I had forgotten to write down the exact housenumber and the names on the mailboxes didn't really help out as many of them had Basily written on them.<br />Just as I was about to ask a young boy walking a small dog the way to Popy's house I heard my name being called behind me. <br />Fashionably as always with his long black coat, tailord pants and shiny shoes Popy showed me the way to his home. Arriving at the front door he kicked of his shoes in a reflex. When I asked him if I should do the same he firmly recommended it if I had the intention to stay in good understanding with the lady of the house. Needles to say my socks were touching the rug within seconds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMU6mKLjhdiz8HRmxFiWQXcMKsQILcTAPQ7eImKL8FsqdoY1oXkoHEH6kwyKG82KeLsO_L3wEc9iSE0rjFGX12PODgSwNM1ZUEh-71uxH4kUxIkFhoSgNl86sq4XtmDX8Dz4_Q0Cf0NknB/s1600-h/Popy+Basily.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMU6mKLjhdiz8HRmxFiWQXcMKsQILcTAPQ7eImKL8FsqdoY1oXkoHEH6kwyKG82KeLsO_L3wEc9iSE0rjFGX12PODgSwNM1ZUEh-71uxH4kUxIkFhoSgNl86sq4XtmDX8Dz4_Q0Cf0NknB/s200/Popy+Basily.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433409244238686370" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">My teacher Popy Basily</span><br /><br />After meeting Popy's wife and kid "Tchavo" (wich later turned out not to be the name of his son but the Sinti word for "Boy") we sat down around the kitchen table and picked up our guitars. Then the first question I had so much anticipated upon the last few weeks came; "So... show me what you got." and of course the even so strongly awaited nerves really kicked in now. Somehow I managed to get out a very poor version of "Montagne St. Genevieve" I had spent so much sweat on practicing the last few months. Popy didn't really seem to be impressed, and frankly I don't blame him. <br />So I desided to pick myself togheter and show him my chord progression on Minor Swing I started practicing since saturday. As soon as I struck the second chord Popy joined me and started improvising. He then corrected me on the chords, showed me what they where supossed to be: "A Minor", then "the one you just did", followed by "the other one on the third dot". Ten minutes later we where making music! Me stumbling over my chords and Popy keeping everything together with a beautiful improvised melody. When I asked him the names of the chords so I could write them down Popy admitted not knowing all of them. "I know how to play them, not what they are called." I replied that it surely was better than knowing them all by name without being able to play them. This was Gypsy Jazz the way the Gypsy teach it, and I absolutely loved it....<br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-90724089125407125782010-01-25T23:52:00.000+01:002010-02-02T14:56:58.398+01:00One, two, three, one, two, three....<span style="font-weight:bold;">My first steps;</span><br /><br />Three monts now since I first picked up my Gypsy Jazz guitar. I still practice alot on "Montagne St. Genevieve" as played by Romane. I.m not even half way the speed it should be, but I'm happy to be able to play it somewhat decently allready. I wonder how I will look back on this a year from now...<br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1la6T8m8bjU&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1la6T8m8bjU&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-16295857693300092072010-01-08T20:36:00.000+01:002011-02-19T11:10:46.811+01:00My first encounter...Finaly...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Popy Basily at Club Madness, The Hague;</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFlEK5pjb6ypDM-FCCP4krabfKxn3M_wRNh0zL6SWYaLfSsM2Da6IZgY4FFk24k0OYHH3gvi8M0pLdEb3Ty0rN_Pc_6vFEkHFA24MPHB6v8Fm4E7XsLhGE8ISB-fyIXFchgy_Z16m0SWA/s1600-h/popy.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFlEK5pjb6ypDM-FCCP4krabfKxn3M_wRNh0zL6SWYaLfSsM2Da6IZgY4FFk24k0OYHH3gvi8M0pLdEb3Ty0rN_Pc_6vFEkHFA24MPHB6v8Fm4E7XsLhGE8ISB-fyIXFchgy_Z16m0SWA/s400/popy.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432619156411126562" /></a><br /><br />Yesterday was the big night, I was finaly going to withness genuine live Gypsy Jazz in Club Madness in The Hague. Since a few months now Popy Basily is playing there every thursday night....<br /><br />When we arrived at the club it was still empty, except for Popy and his band members; Mark, Gino and Antal sipping beer at the counter. I sat down on the squeeky barchair and awaited the magic. While my brother made fun about my nervousness Popy got on stage and a small miracle unfolded!<br /><br />The watching crowd not much bigger than the band itself wen´t crazy hearing Limehouse blues, Dark eyes, Minor Swing, Sweet Georgia Brown, Bossa Dorado and much more played at a dazling speed with mindblowing virtuosity.<br /><br />During the break, enjoying a sigarette in front of the club I asked Popy if he would teach me...and he would....<br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5668723826688498849.post-24257233115588588952009-12-12T14:46:00.000+01:002011-02-19T11:10:46.812+01:00My first encounter.... I wished...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Stochelo is playing in my town tonight...<br /></span><br />But I have to give my tickets away because work wants me in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzmxFyvYq5o">Copenhagen</a>.... hope to be able to enjoy live Gypsy Jazz soon. In the meantime I pray for someone to please "Bring me the hands of Stochelo Rosenberg!"<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bUfRA2il01U&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bUfRA2il01U&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://gypsyjazzdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Click to read entire weblog!</span></a>Alexander Koninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02036265168917280059noreply@blogger.com0