I'm more than glad to see a lot of young guitarists picking up on the Gypsy guitar of Django and running with it. This video of Joscho Stephan is a display of pure talent, heart, and soul. No amps, no engineer on a mixing board, no studio. Human beings can do amazing things!
Masterful playing by one of the very best modern day exponents of the Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz style. Expressive, articulate and complex technique delivered with matter of fact ease and humor.
I disagree, while he has the technique, i find his rhythmic and melodic ideas to be pretty boring and his feel does not deliver a sense of spontaneous inspiration at all. Listen to Django's phrasing and use of space...its just not here at all. Like I said, Joscho's technique is good, but still boring comparatively to the greats. As far as modern players go I prefer Bireli, at least he has soul.
jalofnotrade I see where you're coming from. JS is extremely talented and he is a technical monster with a penchant for delivering flashy "licks" so to speak. I personally prefer guitarists--gypsy jazz or not--who incorporate longer melodic lines with creative phrasings, which is trait that seems to get lost in JS' playing. My favorite gypsy jazz guitarists are Angelo DeBarre and Paulus Schafer. Listen to these creative and off the chart, beautiful melodic lines: watch?v=uq0ZWuCOnGI
jalofnotrade Sometimes he may seem all flash, but I think you need to listen again. Or closer. Or maybe you can't hear it. He is very melodic. There are all kinds of moving internal lines and target notes. Much like a bop player, actually, using gypsy and shred vocabulary. I think you may mean "lyrical" lines as opposed to melodic. That I could agree with, not many long singable lines. But, he is very melodic, much like Bach Inventions.
Joscho doesn't just have " good" technique. I'd say "impeccable" is a more like it, which is an unusual aproach to this genre. Almost like John Malkovich becoming a puppeteer in the eponymous movie, is as if John Petrucci were to quit Dream Theater to go live in a caravan or something, lol! I know it's a little off -putting to some, but personally, I really like his playing, and I think he is a shot in the arm for the genre. He is German, after all, right? His ideas might take longer to build, but the end result is quite unique. Like him or not, you always know it's Joscho. Bireli notwithstanding, it's harder to tell with some of the other guys. Don't get me wrong, I love Angelo, Tchavolo, et al. but you really have to be an avid listener to hear the difference sometimes. Not with this guy. From the first Teutonicly perfect phrase, you know it's him..
Since you're a metal guy you should include how most of them are all about shredding and nonsense or else you're just showing bias against blues rock. with that said, you probably dont listen to much blues rock then if u think no player can keep it interesting. Blues/rock are mostly jams and improvisation so idk what you're talking about
I have seen Joscho play 4-5 times and I am blown away each time. Once at Caas, some gentleman setting beside me that was from France said This is just amazing, like a great religious experience..
People, this guy has more chops than Django ever did. It's just a fact. Of course, we know it's not all about chops. They get boring if that is all there is, but this guy has an advanced melodic sense. Don't confuse lyrical with melodic. Django is the father, and we should revere him. But not worship. He is still my favorite to listen to, but I think that is in part because of his band, too. And the sound of those old recordings. Plus of course, he played so beautifully. But, to say that every player needs to sounds like him, or do what he did, is just silly. And extremely limiting if not just downright small-minded. So, people complain when someone sounds different, and they say, Django did it better. No, he did it different. We are inspired by Django, but don't put this music in a museum already.
jon ji I am in awe of Jocsho's ability but he like a lot of modern day gypsy players actually seem to re-hash Django;s solos and licks but at super fast speed.
MrSkeeja he definitely does that, but honestly, that is part of the jazz tradition. All jazz musicians use licks from earlier musicians. It is actually important to do so. Then you contribute your own to the lexicon. Which I believe joscho is doing. Even Django's vocabulary came from somewhere else, which he reshaped. I agree, though, that there are too many clones.
Joscho? For me the best Gipsyjazz- Gitaplayer I've ever heard (of course, Django himself will always be the master). Why? Because Joscho has an astonishing accurate technique, unusual, very creative Ideas in his licks, and I think the most powerful and dynamik expression. Greetings from Germany :-)
The ascending series of sweep-picked licks starting at 0:55 tell me that I am dead, and have been transported to another universe where normal guitar skills do not apply.
I saw Joscho exactly one decade earlier than this at CAAS. He was otherworldly- and the only artist at the show finale that got THREE standing O's and encores. My brain just exploded after listening to him...
How satisfied you must be now. It was a long hard journey but your there now Joscho. Newer Gypsy players have had it easier with the new tools to learn from. Do not under estimate Django's contribution, after all he was the one who made gypsy jazz interesting enough for the new world to embellish on and carry it forward to the millennium.
If you close your eyes you surely hear Django... Wht Joscho brings is the ability to play with all the fingers therefore quicker and with technique, we all know Django due to his accident was limited... Joscho is just an amazing guitarist that I love to listen to. My dad made me discover Django and also Glenn Miller... I love to listel all these old recordings because of the special mood they put you into... There is for me an other guitarist who also was great and died far too young Mr Charlie Christian that I recommend to those who do not know him.
His technique its so good it either inspires or depresses me, depending on the day. Imagine if metal heads channelled their skills into this style of music.
So many guitarist who are technically able have very small vocabularies. To play a few minutes let alone 4 without getting to repetitive is a feat. You have to call up multiple styles. Even players like Rusty--look at his NAMM improv--who have awesome speed, start going back to the same patterns and techniques after just 40seconds or so.
