Stochelo Rosenberg - Part I

Although he is not widely known stateside (apart from having been a regular performer at The Django Reinhardt Festival), gypsy jazz guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg enjoys a large following in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.

Stochelo Rosenberg - Part I is a book that isn't so much a biography as it is a scrapbook of different aspects of his life and music. If one can get past the fact that whoever translated the text from the original manuscript is probably not fluent in English (the grammar and spelling errors are numerous), you'll find an interesting portrait of a musician and the culture in which he grew up.

In addition to discussing his life and career, the book contains chapters on Django Reinhardt (Rosenberg's main influence), Mario Maccaferri (Selmer guitar luthier) and the construction of the Stochelo Rosenberg signature model guitar by builder Leo Eimers.

This coffee table book also includes many high quality photographs of Rosenberg throughout his life, capturing moments such as his meeting and performances with violin great Stephane Grappelli.

The last section of the book includes transcriptions of five Rosenberg compositions, which also can be found on a CD that accompanies the book. The CD showcases the prodigious talent of Rosenberg and his trio. Especially beautiful is the tune for his daughter, "Pour Bridget .

After the initial five tracks, the songs are broken down into solo lead guitar, or just rhythm section, so that the budding guitarist can practice the tunes along with the recordings.