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.
- 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).
- 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 Réboul — 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.
- Davorin Čavar « Buco » — Gypsy-jazz guitarist, composer and "eternally practicing musician" — shares playing and thoughts on his channel.
- Hagen Horn — Organizes gypsy-jazz workshops and sessions in Tenerife and Germany/Netherlands.
Resources & links
Sites & forums
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.
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