Writing about one of Stephane Wrembel’s Caifornia tours, jazzweekly.com’s George W. Harris pointed out that, “one of the greatest challenges in the life of a musician is to be able to develop one’s own sound and style. Guitarist Stephane Wrembel has taken that challenge in his effort to continue the legacy of gypsy legend Django Reinhardt by balancing the heart of the pioneer, yet not lose his own personality in the process.”
Wrembel (photo above) will once again honor Reinhardt’s legacy at the annual Django a Gogo Music Festival in Maplewood, NJ, and New York City. This year, the festival will be held from May 7-10 with three nights at Maplewood’s The Woodland and one night in the Peter Sharp Theatre at NYC’s Symphony Space.
The Maplewood concerts will be: “Django New Orleans”, Wednesday, May 7, at 8 p.m.; “The Night of Gypsies”, Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m.; and “Stephane Wrembel Band + Guests” on Saturday, May 10 at 8 p.m. The New York concert, also at 8 p.m., will combine “Stephane Wrembel + Special Guests” and “Django New Orleans”.
Among performers will be guitarists Josh Kaye, Simon Baugartner, and Sam Farthing; violinists Adrien Chevalier and Aurore Violque; bassist Frank Anastasio; tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Nick Driscoll; trumpeter Joe Boga; drummers Scott Kettner and Nick Anderson; and vocalist Sarah King.
There will also be a Guitar Camp from May 6-10 at The Woodland. The camp will include workshops, masterclasses, and jam sessions. For more information about the Maplewood concerts and the camp, log onto http://djangoagogo.com/. For tickets to the New York concert, log onto http://symphonyspace.org/.
PHOTO BY IRENE YPENBURG