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Album Review

Django Festival Allstars: Evolution

Read "Evolution" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 17, 2026

On Evolution, their fifth recording together, the Django Festival Allstars salute the 25th anniversary of the Django Reinhardt NY Jazz Festival, founded in 2000 by Pat Phillips and her late husband, Ettore Stratta, and held every year since then at New York City's celebrated Birdland Jazz Club. While the name “all-star" is sometimes overused, that is not the case here. This really is an all-star quintet, perfectly suited and ideally prepared to refresh and update the “Gypsy jazz" of Reinhardt ...

Album Review

Django Festival Allstars: Evolution

Read "Evolution" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
February 28, 2026

There is a comforting certainty in knowing that some traditions, when treated with respect, do not fade over time but become more luminous. Evolution, by Django Festival Allstars, remains firmly rooted in its lineage. It is an album that looks forward while honouring its origins, reaffirming that Manouche jazz. When played with conviction and humility, it remains one of the most vital in modern acoustic music. Rather than chasing trends, this ensemble refines a language passed down through generations, shaping ...

Album Review

The Django Festival All-Stars: Attitude Manouche

Read "Attitude Manouche" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
July 16, 2018

It is a little known fact that Django Reinhardt was not only an incredible guitarist, he was also extremely good at stealing chickens. For the manouche clan of gypsies to which he belonged, this was a noble skill. He was saved from life as a chicken thief only when given a banjo-guitar at age 12. He became obsessed with the instrument, learning by mimicking the fingerings of established musicians, such as his uncle Guiligou. By the time he was 15 ...