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The fine flower of gypsy jazz pays a vibrant tribute to his spiritual father onstage in Le Mans. An hour of joy and melancholy, Django-style.

You should see the smile on the faces of Stochelo Rosenberg, Romane and Marc Lebevillon when they kick off this concert in homage to Django Reinhardt on the stage of the Europa Jazz Festival in 2011. It’s proof positive that the godfather of gypsy jazz has lost none of his aura and that his music continues to inspire joy, melancholy and the spirit of resistance, even though more than 60 years have passed since his death.

Joined by Angelo Debarre and Christophe Cavero, these musicians are among the most famous successors to the guitarist with the burnt hand, an all-star band, Gypsy by adoption, that knows his repertoire inside and out and that continues to transmit its timeless beauty. There’s a little thing that bothers me when it comes to gypsy jazz, and it’s that people very often don’t lead it back to jazz. They talk about ethnic music and make an association with Tzigane music, which has absolutely nothing to do with it, explains Romane, who fell under its spell at a very early age, just like his onstage companions. Their frenzied strings and learned voices guide us throughout this moving film, a veritable ode to the composer of Minor Swing and Nuages. We’re all children of Django.

Michael Patin