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Bireli Lagrene Gipsy Project: Move
ByAs a child prodigy at age four (he's now an ancient 39!), Lagrène quickly became widely known as an "infant Django." The son of a jazz guitarist and a gypsy of Sinti origin (just like Reinhardt), he has been playing jazz since age seven.
There are swift tempos aplenty on Move. On the title piece, a Denzil Best/Paul Walsh tune, Lagrène, Franck Wolf (saxophone) and Hono Winterstein (guitar) go top speed through every red light. Yet happily, they don't take the set at the famously breakneck pace which has characterized so many of his previous performances, sometimes to the detriment of the music.
Along with a dazzling take on Reinhardt's own "Hungaria that can leave your ears breathless, there's a meditative, smoky blue "Clair De Lune which has a few unlisted whiffs of "It Might As Well Be Spring thrown in for good measure. Lagrene's own "Place Du Tertre is a pastel piece so mellow it verges on the bland, while another Reinhardt tune, "Dance Norvegienne, makes for a deeper dialogue between a pensive Lagrène and the responsive sax of Wolf.
As satisfying as that is, the main course comes when Lagrène and his guys pull out all the stops on "Cherokee. Cooked and basted to perfection, this piece is their own irresistible serving of Dixieland pour le millennium.
Track Listing
Un Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi; Melodie Au Crepuscule; Hungaria; Clair de Lune; Place due Tertre; Troublant Bolero; Move; Nuages; Cherokee; Danse Norvegienne; This Can't Be Love; Victor; Mimosa; Jadis.
Personnel
Bireli Lagrene
guitarBireli Lagrene: guitars; Hono Winterstein: guitars; Franck Wolf: soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone; Diego Imbert: double bass.
Album information
Title: Move | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Dreyfus Records
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