"Laguna celebrated their fourth annual Django Fest last week with both local and international players. The Tommy Davy Quartet opened the night with a bit of wit and a lot of great music - both from Django's repertoire and their own. I was told prior to experiencing their music that I'd remember them. Indeed, they are an outstanding group."

Laguna Beach Independent

"buy his smoking version of "La Gitane," then burn your your guitar and become a Chia Pet breeder. These guys represent a new wave of authentic and virtuosic Jazz Manouche guitar shredding here in the United States. It will be exciting to see where they go!"

Jack Fields www.djangology.net


Remembering 15 Years of Gypsy Jazz in San Diego
Written by Raul Sandelin

The Revival That Won't Quit

"Another encouraging sign was the presence of 20-year-old guitarist Tommy Davy, who, clad in a surplus army jacket, looked ready to audition for a punk band. Yet, Davy is a Gypsy jazz guitarist from Laguna Beach, who is ready to take Django's legacy to a new generation. Davy even stepped on stage to play a song or two during one of the sets performed by Cola's new Hot Club."


LA Underground: Django Night

We had been anxiously waiting for Django Night at T's since news of its fantastic lineup started to leak. Leave it to Roderick Cumming of the Cat Hair Ensemble to organize such a special night devoted to the original gipsy king. We couldn't possibly tell you how good this show was. Luckily Mr. Cumming can.

We arrived as Tommy Davy was seemingly yawning through some of the most acrobatic guitar runs of the night with spot-on accuracy. After which we settled in and witnessed some great local talent we've never had the pleasure of seeing before... Erich Von Kneip, Tango Nuevo all were wonderful surprises. And those we had seen before (Jessica Fichot, Killsonic, Cat Hair) were delightful as usual. Added to the excitement was the finale of Jeremy Drake and Nels Cline who reinterpreted Reinhardt into the glorious noise they are known for. If you missed the show, be sure to catch the Ensemble at T's on residency nights or any of the other featured performers around town.



JJG Review

A DJANGO RETROSPECTIVE

Guitarist Stephane Wrembel was in the Los Angeles area just long
enough
for several performances before heading back towards the New York
homestead.
Usually playing an eclectic style of jazz he calls World Gypsy Jazz
with his
quartet, tonight started differently. Wrembel presented a look at
Django
Reinhardtâ€--s chronological musical evolution as both guitarist and
composer of gypsy
jazz. That required going back to Djangoâ€--s gypsy heritage. He
discussed that as
nomads, the gypsies are thought to have come from India, passing
through
Turkey, the mid-east, and Russia, over centuries, on their way towards
Europe.
Along the way encountered music was added to the gypsy mix, including
Klezmer, a
Jewish street music. As Wrembel mentioned those travels, he briefly
played
music from those different countries and areas to demonstrate how each
influenced
and was incorporated into what was later to be Djangoâ€--s evolving
gypsy jazz.
An important factor was the tragic fire that badly burned Django,
causing the
loss of use of two fingers on his left (fretting) hand. Rather than a
predicted
"the end of Django," it was the cause of developing his original style
and
remarkable methods of playing guitar, using his remaining three working
fingers.
Wrembel commented that this retrospective was not part of his usual

concert, but only for this venue, The Coffee Gallery Backstage in
Altadena, a Los
Angeles suburb, the decision was made to add this educational
background
material. Iâ€--m glad he did! French-born with a charming accent, "I
usually donâ€--t
talk so much and let my guitar talk for me," he said. Since he was
dealing with
early Django for the first set, his regular bassist, Jared Engel, and a
guest
gypsy jazz guitarist, Thomas Davy, played with him to demonstrate and
play as a
trio.
For the last set, Mathias Bublath on keyboard, and drummer Julien
Augier
stepped up to complete the usual Wrembel Quartet to play their World
Gypsy
Jazz, a post-Django style, as Django-purist Davy packed up his guitar
to listen
from the audience. Wrembel and Davy certainly proved their Django chops
in
classic 1930s form with Djangoâ€--s first four recorded tunes, "Lady Be
Good,"
"Dinah," "Tiger Rag," and "Iâ€--m Confessinâ€--," in addition to examples
of influencing
music from the various areas of historic gypsy travels. Also played was
one of
Djangoâ€--s last recorded tunes, "Iâ€--ll See You in My Dreams," his
original and
very beautiful "Nuages," and "Honeysuckle Rose." Rather than play just
"in the
shadow" of Django by reproducing his style, Wrembel also wants to play
"in
the light" of Django, by building on it, with continuing new ideas and
merging
styles. This band tries to do both. With each band member originally
coming
from a different musical orientation, rock, bop, or bluegrass, Wrembel
puts it
all together behind his gypsy jazz guitar lead, with itâ€--s heritage
from
different parts of the globe, for his World Gypsy Jazz concept. Itâ€--s
a more
contemporary sound, a little farther from the earth with a lively
intensity and more
jump, that will entice new fans, perhaps younger, to this new
progressive gypsy
jazz. But may the classy, original 1930s Django sound live forever!
Coffee Gallery Backstage proprietor Bob Stane takes pride in adding

variety to the cultural mix of music available to the San Gabriel
Valley and Los
Angeles County, and deserves a medal for his fascinating and unique
programs.

Harvey Barkan



DjangoFest Laguna Page 2

A third band expected for this segment of DjangoFest Laguna was unable
to make it, but a substitution band led by 19 year old Thomas Davy filled
in for the spot. I couldn’t have been more pleased with this selection! In May
2005, in this publication, you might have read my review, "The Emerging Trio
Gonzalo," in which I mentioned a then 16 year old guitar student, Thomas Davy, was
invited out of the audience to play a few tunes with the featured
trio. He
did
a nice job, particularly for only one year of study, mostly playing
rhythm
guitar. With an intense interest in gypsy jazz guitar, the teenage
novice
guitarist was driven the 120 miles round trip to be there by
understanding
and
supportive parents. In the next three years, after continued study and
up
to eight
hours daily practice, we were now hearing that same young man leading
his
Thomas Davy Band, playing lead guitar! He demonstrated what desire,
dedication,
and lots of hard work can accomplish! Continuing his study and work on
his
playing, he will no doubt be a major force within another 2 or 3
years.
With rhythm
guitarists Jimmy Grant and Ivan Pena, and the iron-man bassist Simon
Planting, the band did an excellent presentation featuring
individualized
lead guitar,
earning a standing ovation from an appreciative audience, responding
the
same
way as for the major international guitarists and groups.
Also playing at earlier sessions and the prior day, were The John
Jorgenson Quintet, Gonzalo Bergara Quartet, and Hot Club Pacific.
Guitar
headliners
Michael Horowitz, John Jorgenson, Andreas Oberg, and Angelo Debarre,
each
with
an individualized focus, offered several gypsy jazz guitar workshops.
With
the
many guitar enthusiasts in attendance, there were probably enough
guitar
picks in pockets of the audience to roof a doghouse!
Known for their support of the arts, the City of Laguna Beach and
especially the management of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts deserve
big
thanks
from the DjangoFest Laguna musicians and fans for their hospitality
and
continued
support of this brainchild of Nick Lehr, Founding Director. And, in
case
you
wanted even more gypsy jazz, attendees were invited to join the
musicians
for
an impromptu gypsy jazz party at the nearby Brussels Bistro (Saturday
and
Sunday) or the Bamboo Bar & Grill (Friday) in Laguna Beach after the
evening
shows! More than a concert, this was a celebration of the return of
hard-driving,
melodic gypsy jazz, building on the remarkable creativity of Django
Reinhardt
and his works, with dedicated fans that know what they want to hear!
For information on DjangoFest, check www.DjangoFest.com.

HARVEY BARKAN

OC WEEKLY MARCH 2006

Hello Django Kitty!




Djangofest Laguna lures a younger audience

By JIM WASHBURN
Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 3:00 pm


Angelo DeBarre: Djang it!
Everyone has a first cherished childhood memory of Disneyland: meeting Mickey, realizing your parents lied about your great steering on the Autopia, barfing spaceburger chunks into the starry void of Space Mountain. For Tommy Davy, though, it was being 2 years old and hearing John Jorgenson and Raul Reynoso playing Gypsy-style jazz at the faux New Orleans Square. Sixteen years later, 18-year-old Laguna High student Davy is sharing the bill this weekend with Jorgenson and other prime pickers at Djangofest Laguna 2006.

"My dad was always playing Django's music around the house. Hearing that music live at Disneyland really cemented my interest in it," Davy recalled.

When I was 2, I was busy cementing my diapers, but some people do figure out early in life what matters to them. In his younger teens, Davy went through "phases of playing 1960s psychedelic music, then Captain Beefheart, sound-sculpture stuff like Snakefinger, into Danny Gatton and the East Coast Telecaster school." Then, four years ago at the NAMM show, he spotted new re-creations of the Maccaferi guitar favored by Gypsy jazz progenitor Django Reinhardt, bought one "and devoted myself full-bore to playing it."

The object of his musical devotion is Reinhardt, the Belgian Gypsy guitarist (1910-1953) whose phenomenally lyrical, inventive and technically astonishing playing remains Europe's chief contribution to jazz. Reinhardt's music influenced and challenged virtually every other guitarist who ever heard the stuff, from jazzmen to pickers as disparate as Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Trey Anastasio, Julian Bream and Richard Thompson.

Davy and some others take the influence a few steps further, playing the same repertoire on the same obscure-design guitar in the same instrumental context (generally a drumless group of acoustic guitars, violin and bass), preserving Reinhardt's fiery legacy while the best of them still find plenty of room for individual expression within its improvisations. To be utterly true to Reinhardt's style, some even do their fretting with just two fingers, because two of Reinhardt's were paralyzed in a Gypsy caravan fire.

The Djangofest will also feature several repeat performers from last year's fest, including Jorgenson (the mind-disarraying, multi-award-winning former Desert Rose Band, Elton John Band and Disneyland guitarist, again joined by singer Beryl Davis, who performed with Reinhardt in her youth); Parisian Gypsy Angelo Debarre, joined this year by accordionist Ludovic Beier; Amsterdam's Robin Nolan Trio, featuring contemporary chanteuse Brandi Shearer; the Hot Club of San Diego; and the fest debut of French guitarist Stephane Wrembel and of the group Davy's in, the Gypsy Kidz.

In a sense, they're sort of a hot jazz New Kids on the Block, a manufactured youth band put together by a music-biz exec. The difference here is the exec is Amoeba record stores owner Dave Prinz, and the motive sure can't be money, since most kids in the 1940s never heard of this music, let alone the ones now.

"He wanted to put something together that had the chance to appeal to young people specifically because the music doesn't have much of a young following in the United States," Davy said. "He loves the music—I first met him at the San Francisco Djangofest—and he wants to help promote it."

Prinz put together the best young players he could find, coming up with bassist Samson Grisman, violinist Annie Staninec, and guitarists Davy and Ivan Pena, who just joined the group. They range in age from 16 to 20. They've already done a tour of West Coast clubs, opening for mandolinist David Grisman (Samson's dad).

Davy's also already had the daunting experience of being called onstage to perform with Debarre, Beier and others. "From hardly knowing anything about playing this music four years ago to having the chance to play with them was mind-boggling to me. I couldn't have imagined it," he said.

"I think there will always be a little stage fright going into a situation like that, but at some point the music takes over. You get so absorbed into the qualities of it that you forget everything else. That's one of the reasons why I intend to play this music for the rest of my life."