Bireli Lagrene

Gypsy Jazz Guitar Artistry

In the tradition of Django Reinhardt, Biréli Lagrène is one of most highly regarded Gypsy jazz, bebop, and fusion guitarists of recent decades. Once regarded as a child prodigy, he has performed with such legendary players as Benny Goodman, Stéphan Grappelli, Al Di Meola, Paco de Luc a, John McLaughlin and countless others. Given that roster, one might assume that Lagrène is quite advanced in years, but this is not the case: the fact is, he was drawn to the guitar as a child of four, and after auditioning at the intermission, was invited onstage with Grapelli for the second half- when he was only ten years old. While Lagrène is primarily an ear player, he has collaborated withTAGA Publishing to produce an exceptional book filled with insightful tips on playing the Gypsy jazz style. Biréli Lagrène: Gypsy Jazz Guitar Artistry introduces the intermediate jazz guitarist to the essential rhythms used in Gypsy jazz accompaniment, as well as to the vocabulary needed to improvise in the Gypsy jazz style. Not for the faint of heart, the book includes access to online audio recordings of 33 rhythm exercises and licks to incorporate the right feel or panache in your own Gypsy jazz performance style. The musical examples are written in either chord symbols or standard notation and tablature.