Stephane Wrembel Band at Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Maybe you saw him performing at the 2012 Academy Awards or in one of Woody Allan’s European set films. Maybe you noticed when Rolling Stone called him “a revelation” or maybe you’re a gypsy jazz devotee. But once you hear Stephane Wrembel he leaves a lasting impression. A guitarist and composer who honed his craft in Gypsy campsites in the French countryside, he has become one of the most lauded players in contemporary gypsy jazz. Wrembel has become one of the premier stylists in the vein of Django Reinhardt, but also looks beyond the Reinhardt foundation to new horizons. Other European folk guitar forms such as flamenco and fado have seeped into his playing, as well as traditional jazz and rock...

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Maybe you saw him performing at the 2012 Academy Awards or in one of Woody Allan’s European set films. Maybe you noticed when Rolling Stone called him “a revelation” or maybe you’re a gypsy jazz devotee. But once you hear Stephane Wrembel he leaves a lasting impression. A guitarist and composer who honed his craft in Gypsy campsites in the French countryside, he has become one of the most lauded players in contemporary gypsy jazz. Wrembel has become one of the premier stylists in the vein of Django Reinhardt, but also looks beyond the Reinhardt foundation to new horizons. Other European folk guitar forms such as flamenco and fado have seeped into his playing, as well as traditional jazz and rock. However, it’s the devotion to the gypsy jazz melodies that perennially shine through in his music. “I always compose with a picture in mind” states Wrembel, and he succeeds in bringing those images to life with impressionist textures and hues.

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