Gipsy Project & Friends

Bireli Lagrene | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dreyfus
• ASIN: B00006JTH5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,732 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Of all the gypsy guitarists to follow the path blazed by Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene has perhaps inherited more of Reinhardt's restless musical spirit than any other. Since making his recorded debut in 1980 at the age of 13, Lagrene has experimented with a wide variety of styles, including fusion and hard bop. Gypsy Project and Friends is the second CD from Lagrene and the band he formed to play Hot Club-style swing. The selections include a well-chosen mix of popular Reinhardt-Grappelli compositions such as "Djangology" and "Minor Swing," along with less familiar tunes like "Ma Premiere Guitare," which was written by the French guitarist Sacha Distel. Lagrene's band features the amazing Romanian fiddler Florin Niculescu, who plays swing with a fiery passion. The friends include guitarists Thomas Dutronc, "Hono" Winterstein, and Stochelo Rosenberg, who is one of the most technically accomplished guitarists playing in the gypsy jazz style. Lagrene and his companions play these songs in a way that perfectly balances respect for the tradition with the desire to innovate and move the style into the future. --Michael Simmons

Product Description

Thomas Dutronc - Guitar Diego Imbert - Double Bass Bireli Lagrene - Guitar Holzmano Lagrene - Guitar Florin Niculescu - Violin Stchelo Rosenberg - Guitar Hono Winterstein - Guitar Henri Salvador - Vocals (on Envie De Toi)

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, April 17, 2007

By 

Keith "Keith M." (LA, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gipsy Project & Friends (Audio CD)

I'm not really sure why this album has gotten only decent reviews. This is an outstanding album. One of Bireli's best. His solo on "Songe d'Automne" is out of this world. To me, this album proves my thought that Bireli swings more than any other guitarist around today as well as the fact that he is so much more versatile and interesting than most of his contemporaries. Florin is a delight on this cd. His violin playing is a wonder in itself, clearly on par with Bireli's guitar playing. I prefer this cd to the first Gypsy Project album. I actually prefer the dvd "Live Jazz a Vienne" to this album though. The dvd is much more spontaneous. I would reccommend all 3 Gypsy Project albums as well as his 2 dvds. If you have never heard Bireli before, all i can say is fasten your seatbelt. You are in for a treat! This album also contains a version of Dark Eyes featuring Stochelo Rosenberg on guitar. If you're a Stochelo fan, that would be a plus. Listen to the music!

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Enjoyable as most of Bireli's CDs, November 18, 2004

By 

Gypsy Guitars (UpCountry Maui, Hawaii Nei) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gipsy Project & Friends (Audio CD)

Bireli Lagrene is obviously one of the finest gypsy jazz guitarists in this world & his latest DVD release is phenomenal ! i adore the first Gipsy Project studio recording BUT this second studio CD does not appeal to my ears as much as many other of Birelis' best recordings. that is not to say it is a bad CD BUT the inclusion of an excessive number of ballads & a vocal track drag down the total experience of the CD for my tastes. there are some great tracks - especially Birelis' duet w/ Stochelo Rosenberg on "Dark Eyes" BUT the many mid-tempo & slow paced ballads make this one of my last choices when i'm in the mood to listen to Bireli... as a professional gypsy guitarist who LOVES grrreat guitar CDs, i would recommend other Bireli CDs that are entirely instrumental & better examples of his brilliant playing before this particular "good but not great" recording of Lagrene's gifted guitar playing... if you think this is his best CD- then you should listen to his entire catalog as i have... there are more appealing all instrumental CDs with better choices of material... 'sorry if this sounds harsh.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, October 6, 2004

By 

On the Real "Djangophile" (Somewheres in Floryda) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gipsy Project & Friends (Audio CD)

[...] Bireli is among the 'top tier' of gypsy gutiarists playing in the style of Django Reinhardt alive today. If you can appreciate incredibly technical guitar playing there is plenty of that to chew on, but Bireli is much more than a showoff artist, he's a genius. If you can't appreciate this disc (or Bireli's first Gipsy Project CD), then you simply can 't appreciate music. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh.