The gypsy-jazz community
Players
- Axel Couty, Engineer learning gypsy jazz — building this tool and filming the journey. I'm an engineer who fell for gypsy jazz and wanted a faster way to learn it — so I built Haute Gitanerie: arpeggios and chords you can actually see on the neck, and the standards I'm working through. I film the journey on YouTube and Instagram — the wins, the plateaus, and the tunes I'm chasing. Say hi, tell me what's broken, or point me at a shape I'm getting wrong.
- Daniel Gueli, Amsterdam gypsy-jazz double bassist (Mozes Rosenberg Trio). He runs the Gypsy Jazz Hub community directory. Half Dutch, half Italian, Amsterdam-based double bassist. He moved into gypsy jazz after playing with John Ligthart and is now part of the Mozes Rosenberg Trio, sharing stages with Stochelo and Jimmy Rosenberg, Tcha Limberger and more. He also runs Gypsy Jazz Hub, a free community directory for finding players, jams and workshops worldwide.
- Michel Mercier, Gypsy-jazz guitarist, runs the Green Linnet jam in Paris. A pillar of the Paris scene: for some twenty years he's run the Sunday-night jam at the Green Linnet, a near-mandatory stop for gypsy-jazz players passing through Paris. His site is also a serious Django Reinhardt archive: rare photos and a worldwide registry of gypsy-guitar luthiers.
- Adrien Katz, Gypsy-jazz guitarist and teacher in Paris. Gypsy-jazz guitarist of Greek heritage with a very personal touch, and a teacher. He also runs a Paris jam (at Victor & D'Artagnan).
- Aurélien Robert, Gypsy-jazz guitarist. A fixture of the scene, he notably hosts the Paris Guitar Connection video podcast.
- Steven Reinhardt, Gypsy-jazz guitarist, runs the Chope des Puces jam. A descendant of Django Reinhardt, with a powerful, striking style. He runs the jam at the Chope des Puces in Saint-Ouen.
- Clovis Brossard, Gypsy-jazz double bassist, Paris.
- Lisa Liu, Gypsy-jazz guitarist and teacher, San Francisco. Guitarist and teacher based in San Francisco, with an approach that makes improvising click fast.
- Siqi Ren, Gypsy-jazz violinist, Chinese-born and based in France. There from the very start of the journey, she showed me around at my first festival. Violinist, Chinese-born and based in France.
- Biréli Lagrène, Legendary Alsatian Romani guitarist, from Django's repertoire to jazz fusion.
- David Reinhardt, Guitarist and grandson of Django Reinhardt, leading his own trio.
- Sébastien Giniaux, Guitarist, cellist and composer, one of the scene's most lyrical voices.
- Rocky Gresset, Virtuoso gypsy-jazz guitarist, mentored by Christian Escoudé.
- Adrien Marco, Guitarist of the new gypsy-jazz generation, leading the Adrien Marco Trio.
- Amati Schmitt, Gypsy-jazz guitarist, son of Dorado Schmitt.
- Aurore Voilqué, Gypsy-jazz violinist and singer, longtime collaborator of Thomas Dutronc and Angelo Debarre.
- Samy Zouari, Marseille gypsy-jazz guitarist and composer.
- Tristan Loriaut, Double bassist in gypsy-jazz groups (Angelo Debarre, Adrien Moignard) and teacher.
- Djamal B., Gypsy-jazz singer and guitarist, French-language repertoire.
- Debi Botos, Hungarian-Roma gypsy-jazz guitarist based in Toronto.
- Yumi Tsubouchi, Tokyo gypsy-jazz violinist, plays with the trio Bistro Manouche.
- Hervé Pouliquen, Gypsy-jazz guitarist ("Poulik"), sideman to Sanseverino and Angelo Debarre.
- David Jazzmanouche, Gypsy-jazz guitarist, teacher and video creator, "the Gypsy Jazz Philosopher". Runs the Deep Gypsy Jazz school.
- Marian Badoï, Romanian-born accordionist leading the Marian Badoï Trio.
- Raphaël-Tristan Jouaville, Violinist and composer, co-founder of the quartet La Verdine.
- Lu Golovina, Guitarist leading Touche de Manouche, one of few women fronting gypsy-jazz guitar.
- Yorgui Loeffler, Alsatian gypsy-jazz guitarist, a distinctive lead voice of the scene.
- Magno Loeffler, Rhythm guitarist, son of Yorgui Loeffler.
- Marta Sierra, Hot-club swing violinist based between Barcelona and Paris.
- Mateo Bolsa, Gypsy-jazz guitarist.
- Maxime Delarue, Gypsy-jazz guitarist.
- Biddie Briaval, Sinti jazz and swing vocalist from the Briaval family.
- Clément de Daniloff, Double bassist on the Paris manouche / musette scene.
- Thibault Matard, Gypsy-jazz guitarist.
- Gerardo Coronado, Gypsy-jazz guitarist.
- Tyrin Tennant, Gypsy-jazz guitarist.
- Melissa Clausse, Gypsy-jazz vocalist.
- Django Jazz Calgary, Organises gypsy-jazz jams in Calgary, Canada. A gypsy-jazz jam community in Calgary, come and play.
- Dario Napoli, Italian gypsy-jazz guitarist & composer, Django roots pushed toward modern jazz, bebop and funk. Leads the Dario Napoli Trio and the Modern Manouche Project, blending manouche swing with contemporary jazz. A prolific teacher too (his YouTube is full of gypsy-jazz tutorials and performances) and he has shared stages with players like Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène and Adrien Moignard.
- Robin Nolan, Gypsy-jazz virtuoso and one of the scene's great educators, a Django torch-bearer for decades. One of the most respected gypsy-jazz guitarists since Django, he has headlined Django festivals worldwide and played Montreux, the Royal Albert Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and even collaborated with George Harrison. Beyond the stage he's a prolific teacher: his 'Gypsy Jazz Secrets' catalogue and the Gypsy Jazz Club have helped a whole generation find their way into the style.
- Clément Reboul, French gypsy-jazz guitarist and long-running online teacher — runs the school apprendre-le-jazz-manouche.com. One of the earliest gypsy-jazz teachers on YouTube (channel started in 2009), with a clear, method-driven way of breaking the style down. He runs the learning site apprendre-le-jazz-manouche.com and plays jazz manouche for concerts and events with his collective.
- Sven Jungbeck, German gypsy-jazz guitarist and a widely-followed YouTube teacher, plays with the Joscho Stephan Trio. Born in 1983, he picked up the guitar at 13 and studied music in Arnhem before making his living as a live player and teacher. He plays gypsy swing with the renowned Joscho Stephan Trio and founded the Beyond Swing Trio in 2020. His YouTube channel (lessons and solo performances in the hot-swing / jazz-manouche tradition) has made him one of the style's most-followed online teachers.
- Christiaan van Hemert « CVH », Dutch gypsy-jazz violinist & guitarist and one of the scene's most-followed teachers, creator of the van Hemert System and the La Pompe Live practice app. One of the premier violinists in today's gypsy-jazz scene and an educator at the Rotterdam University of the Arts. In 2016 he introduced the 'van Hemert System', a full improvisation method, and his YouTube channel is one of the style's biggest teaching hubs. He also built La Pompe Live, a practice app with real recorded backing tracks, per-bar looping and sharable charts.
- Buco Bucolini « Buco », Gypsy-jazz guitarist, composer and "eternally practicing musician" — shares playing and thoughts on his channel.
- Denis Chang, Taiwanese-Canadian gypsy-jazz guitarist and sought-after educator, steeped in the Roma tradition (rare among outsiders in speaking Romanes); runs DC Music School.
- Hagen Horn, Organizes gypsy-jazz workshops and sessions in Tenerife and Germany/Netherlands.
- Tim Robinson, Gypsy-jazz guitar teacher in London, lots of free lessons on his site.
- Benjamin Bobenrieth, Toulouse gypsy-jazz guitarist and composer. Django's language, his own writing. Born in 1988 in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Benjamin Bobenrieth fell for Django Reinhardt's music at 15 and went deep: a jazz degree and a musicology master's in Toulouse, the "best group" prize at the Niglo competition with the Oihana Quartet, then his own Benjamin Bobenrieth Trio and projects like Django Viatge and Travels (Laborie Jazz). He composes original pieces while honouring the gypsy-jazz tradition, teaches through his Gypsy Jazz Improvisation Academy, and runs the Toulouse Django Festival.
Resources & links
Sites & forums
- GuitareJazzManouche.com, The reference French hub: a huge library of chord grids, a wiki and an active forum.
- DjangoBooks, English-speaking shop, forum and method books, the classic gypsy-jazz store.
- michelmercier.fr, archives Django, Michel Mercier's site: rare Django Reinhardt photos, articles and archival research.
- Django-Reinhardt.com (Gilbert Malbec), Gilbert Malbec's Django Reinhardt site: biography, history and resources.
- Django photo album (Gilles Réa), A rich photographic archive of Django Reinhardt, curated by Gilles Réa.
Videos & teachers
- David Jazzmanouche, Gypsy-jazz licks and playing tips on Instagram.
- DC Music School (Denis Chang), In-depth lessons with masters of the style, filmed by Denis Chang.
- Robin Nolan, Approachable lessons, gypsy-jazz repertoire and jam tracks.
- Guitare Improvisation (Martin Gioani), 1000+ backing tracks and improvisation lessons (jazz, gypsy jazz and more).
- Clément Reboul, Gypsy-jazz guitarist and teacher: free lessons, transcriptions and play-along tracks.
- Stéphane Wrembel, Virtuoso gypsy-jazz guitarist and composer: performances and Django repertoire.
- Soundslice, Interactive sheet music & tab that plays back: slow down, loop and learn any piece. Built by Adrian Holovaty (also a gypsy-jazz guitarist).
- Paris Guitar Connection, A French gypsy-jazz podcast: six guitarists from different worlds trading views on music, gear and the craft, plus lives and tutorials.
Festivals
Guitars & luthiers
- Gypsy-guitar luthier registry, A worldwide list of gypsy-guitar luthiers, compiled by Michel Mercier.
- Guitare Village, Guitar store near Paris (Domont): new & vintage, including gypsy guitars.
- Galerie Casanova, Jérôme Casanova's Paris workshop, a world reference for Selmer-Maccaferri and gypsy-jazz guitars.
Open the interactive tool →
