egroj world: Bireli Lagrene • Foreign Affairs

Monday, July 1, 2024

Bireli Lagrene • Foreign Affairs

 


 

Biography
Bireli Lagrene was born on September 4, 1966 in Saverne, Alsace, France. The son of Fiso Lagrene, a popular guitarist in pre-war France, Lagrene displayed a prodigious talent as a very young child. Born into a gypsy community, his origins and his fleet, inventive playing style inevitably generated comparisons with Django Reinhardt. In 1978, he won a prize at a festival at Strasbourg and subsequently made a big impact during a televised gypsy festival.

In his early teenage years Lagrene toured extensively playing concerts and festivals across Europe, often accompanied by distinguished jazz artists such as Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Stéphane Grappelli and Niels- Henning Orsted Pedersen. He also made his first record Routes To Django, which helped to prove that early estimates of his capabilities were not excessive.

An outstanding technician, Lagrene has revealed influences other than Reinhardt, happily incorporating bebop phraseology, rock rhythms and Brazilian music into his work. By the late 80s he had moved substantially from his early Reinhardt-style to fully embrace jazz-rock and other electronically-aided fusions.

Lagrene returned to his roots with such brilliant offerings as 1994’s My Favorite Django and 1998’s Blue Eyes as well as violinist Didier Lockwood’s 2000 recording Tribute To Stephane Grappelli and last year’s highly acclaimed Gypsy Project, which eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins hailed as “electrifying... represents his best work in years.” On Gipsy Project & Friends, Bireli burns a blue streak on the knucklebuster “Babik,” a blistering uptempo ode composed by Django for his guitar-playing son Babik Reinhardt. Elsewhere, Bireli reveals his deep gypsy soul on the mournful minor key “Ou Es-Tu Mon Amour” and the haunting ballad “Laura,” composed by David Raskin and Johnny Mercer for the 1944 film of the same name. He oozes sheer joie de swingon infectious showstoppers like “Djangology,” “Les Yeux Noirs,” “Minor Swing” (catch Bireli’s playful, tongue-in-cheek intro to that Django anthem) and “Artillerie Lourde,” reprising the buoyantly swinging spirit of the Hot Club of France alongside the remarkable violinist Florin Niculescu, who reads Bireli’s mind the way Stephane Grappelli read Django’s. Special guest Henri Salvador lends his velvety smooth French crooning style to the seductive ballad “Envie de Toi.”
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/bireli-lagrene

///////


Biografía
Bireli Lagrene nació el 4 de septiembre de 1966 en Saverne, Alsacia, Francia. Hijo de Fiso Lagrene, un popular guitarrista de la Francia de antes de la guerra, Lagrene mostró un talento prodigioso desde muy joven. Nacido en el seno de una comunidad gitana, sus orígenes y su estilo de tocar rápido e inventivo generaron inevitablemente comparaciones con Django Reinhardt. En 1978, ganó un premio en un festival de Estrasburgo y posteriormente causó un gran impacto durante un festival gitano televisado.

En sus primeros años de adolescencia, Lagrene realizó numerosas giras de conciertos y festivales por toda Europa, a menudo acompañado por distinguidos artistas de jazz como Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Stéphane Grappelli y Niels- Henning Orsted Pedersen. También grabó su primer disco Routes To Django, que contribuyó a demostrar que las primeras estimaciones de sus capacidades no eran excesivas.

Técnico excepcional, Lagrene ha revelado otras influencias además de Reinhardt, incorporando felizmente a su obra la fraseología del bebop, los ritmos del rock y la música brasileña. A finales de los años 80, Lagrene se alejó considerablemente de su estilo Reinhardt inicial para abrazar plenamente el jazz-rock y otras fusiones con ayuda de la electrónica.

Lagrene volvió a sus raíces con propuestas tan brillantes como My Favorite Django, de 1994, y Blue Eyes, de 1998, así como con la grabación Tribute To Stephane Grappelli, del violinista Didier Lockwood, de 2000, y con el aclamado Gypsy Project, del año pasado, que el eminente crítico de jazz Gary Giddins calificó de "electrizante... representa su mejor trabajo en años". En Gipsy Project & Friends, Bireli se luce en el tema "Babik", una oda a la velocidad del viento compuesta por Django para su hijo guitarrista Babik Reinhardt. Por otra parte, Bireli revela su profunda alma gitana en el lúgubre tono menor "Ou Es-Tu Mon Amour" y la inquietante balada "Laura", compuesta por David Raskin y Johnny Mercer para la película de 1944 del mismo nombre. Rezuma pura alegría de swing en contagiosas piezas como "Djangology", "Les Yeux Noirs", "Minor Swing" (obsérvese la divertida e irónica introducción de Bireli a ese himno de Django) y "Artillerie Lourde", que reproduce el espíritu alegremente oscilante del Hot Club de Francia junto al notable violinista Florin Niculescu, que lee la mente de Bireli como Stephane Grappelli leía la de Django. El invitado especial Henri Salvador presta su aterciopelado estilo de crooning francés a la seductora balada "Envie de Toi".
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/bireli-lagrene


bireli-lagrene.fr ...








MORE Bireli Lagrene ...





This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader


 
Tip: Use JDownloader
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment