Gypsy Jazz Master Stephane Wrembel

JGT contributor Joe Barth talks to gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel about what inspired him to play jazz guitar.

Above photo Stéphane Wrembel by Ashley Kruythoffl

Stephane was born on February 27, 1974, in France. After beginning his career there, he came to the United States to study at Berklee College. He now makes his home in Brooklyn, NY. His artistry can be heard quite frequently from the bistros and clubs of New York as well as on concert stages around the world.  He has just released a new album: Django New Orleans II – Hors Serie.

JB:  I know some of your background has been discussed in JGT, but remind us: as a boy growing up in France, what inspired you to play jazz guitar?

SW:  I grew up in Fontainebleau, France. It is a very interesting place to grow up. Not only was it the home base of Django Reinhardt and the whole “Gypsy Jazz” movement, but it is also the home of Impressionism, with a very strong presence of Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and others. It is also home to Nadia Boulanger’s music program, the Fontainebleau School of Arts.

Growing up there, I naturally started with classical piano, then switched to guitar when I was 15 (I played rock, of course!). At age 17, I decided I would become a professional guitarist, so I studied everything: picking, jazz, classical… I wanted to become a complete guitarist. Naturally, being in the heart of Django’s country, my entry into jazz was through his music. And it was an immediate, lifelong love at first listen.

JB:  You moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. Tell us about a couple of your teachers there and the musical things you appreciated most about those years of your life.

SW:  There were many great teachers! I remember fondly my classes with Jon Damian, who was my private teacher and insisted on having an open, creative approach. (He has several fabulous books on the subject.) Mick Goodrick was also a great source for harmony and ear training. Brett Willmott was the one who taught me polyrhythm, a most valuable tool to master in performance. Jamie Haddad taught me solkattu, the Indian approach to rhythm, and Ed Tomassi taught me jazz harmony at the deepest level.

My goal in going to Berklee was to leave without any unanswered questions — only personal work left to do. And thanks to these gentlemen, that is exactly what happened. Not only did I leave with all the answers I needed, but I also left feeling I knew myself better as a musician. That was also the real beginning of serious personal work, after I had gathered all the information I needed. It helped me design a new way to learn and teach guitar: Total Guitar.

JB:  To you personally, what are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums that shaped your development as a guitarist, and why? 

SW:  Speaking strictly about guitar, of course, the first one that comes to mind is my first Django record, Djangology ’49, which is a “best of” the Rome 1949 recordings. This was my entry point into Django’s world. I remember listening to “Minor Swing” for the first time and feeling there were notes I had never heard before! I immediately picked up my guitar and started transcribing. Thirty-five years later, I am still at it.

I also love Ralph Towner’s Anthem. It is a solo repertoire with an amazing tone, and I love the impressionistic vibe. To me, Ralph Towner is one of the greatest composers of the last 50 years. His music haunts the soul, and although it is always unique and original, it never feels weird — it falls naturally on the ear. I love composers who can take you into a dream world.

Richard Galliano’s New York Tango features Biréli Lagrène on guitar. He does a fantastic job in terms of comping: very solid rhythmically, with beautiful harmonies, and very creative in responding to what the music needs. He also plays some beautiful solos on it. This is my favorite side of Biréli’s playing. I love him best as a sideman, part of a band with a definitive creative direction.

Of course, there are many more, but this is a good sampler.

JB:  What is so seductive about the Hot Club Jazz style that led you to focus so seriously on it?

SW:  Well, there is a question at the bottom of all this: What is jazz? Jazz is an archetypal frame that was born in New Orleans in the late 19th century. Django showed us not only how this frame manifests on the guitar, but also how the string section should swing. His band, the Hot Club of France, was composed of three guitars, a violin, and an upright bass. So, what we call Hot Club Jazz is really the string section isolated from the rest of the orchestra and swinging. This is how you manifest jazz on strings.

The Gypsies continued this tradition, so now it is called Gypsy Jazz, but in reality, it is simply jazz — its archetype, its pure manifestation. As a student of all music and all guitars, I was naturally attracted to this magnificent archetypal sun. It is at the center of my technique and my culture, but I have studied many other approaches that shape my compositional world. Django is not a box that traps me, but rather a starting point that unlocks a universe of infinite possibilities.

JB:  When did you begin to incorporate world music into your expression in Gypsy Jazz?

SW:  Music is more like a journey, like a dream. We are like pipers dancing between dawn and dusk, learning new songs along the way, contemplating the beauty of the universe and of all the countries we cross during our journey. We absorb what we absorb, letting the subconscious tie things together, linking our natural personal taste to whatever comes from the outside. So, whatever comes in, comes in naturally — nothing is calculated or forced. Music is something that must be felt, not overthought.

The musical journey is an amazing spiritual and psychological journey that brings us closer to the Apollonian motto, “Know yourself, and you will know the cosmos and the gods” (the Socratic way), and the Dionysian motto, “Become what you are” (the Nietzschean way).

In the end, music helps us know ourselves better, as well as the world surrounding us.

JB:  You just finished your Django A Gogo Festival and Guitar Camp. If people wanted to come next year, what would they experience?

SW:  My goal was to bring the greatest players in the world — the great masters I had the fortune to grow up with and learn from directly. I wanted to bring them here not only so people could experience the absolute mastery they display in concert, but also to offer the educational angle and give people the chance to learn directly from the masters.

We present four concerts: two in Maplewood, NJ, at The Woodland, and two at Symphony Space in NYC. Each show is different, and I tailor them to always be original. I carefully choose the lineup, so I know I can blend the players’ styles perfectly.

The camp is limited to 40 students. It is a complete immersion with the masters for five days. I divide everyone into four groups of ten, and we rotate the teachers so everyone gets equal time with each master. We have breakfast together, small-group classes in the morning, lunch together, workshops in the afternoon, then concerts in the evening, followed by late-night jam sessions at the pub. It’s amazing — and open to all levels, all ages, and all styles.

For audiences, the concerts are stellar, unique, and a display of some of the best guitar playing in the world. For students, it is also a unique immersion into the world of the Gypsies and their music.

Django a Gogo is about quality, not quantity. It is like going to a three-star restaurant — except it is a three-star concert series and guitar camp.

All information is at www.djangoagogo.com

I’ll give you an early scoop: next year, we will feature Stochelo Rosenberg, Duved Dunayevsky, Kamlo, and more!

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JB:  Talk briefly about your Django New Orleans II – Hors-Série album, in which you do some singing in addition to your guitar playing.

SW:  I produced this album with a friend who suggested the song list. I had never worked that way before, and it was a fun challenge. The repertoire is very eclectic and original. Two of the songs were written by Serge Gainsbourg, and although I am not a singer, I decided to sing those two songs because I love them.

I also tried to make my guitar fit the vernacular variety of songs featured on the album. We always record live, and I blend my magnetic pickup and my piezo through a Fender Blues Junior amp and an AER amp. That gives me both the punch of the acoustic and the sustain and grain of the electric. It gives me sonic possibilities that fit many contexts rather than being tied to a single sound.

JB:  What do you appreciate most about working with Josh Kaye (guitar), Adrien Chevalier (violin), Steven Duffy (tuba), David Langlois (percussion/washboard), Nick Driscoll (tenor sax/clarinet), Joe Boga (trumpet), Scott Kettner (drums), and Sarah King (vocals) as an ensemble?

SW:  If you look carefully, we have the string section (guitars and violin), the percussion section (drums and percussion), the horns and winds (sousaphone, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet), and the vocals. It is a full representation of an orchestra. But a band is more than just a collection of instruments and sounds. Each musician also has their own personality, background, and sensibility, so chemistry becomes extremely important.

I should also say that we are not trying to sound like the past. We sound like today, with modern amps and instruments, and we do not pretend we have never heard Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, or music from all over the world. That is why, although you can recognize the framework of New Orleans jazz and the sounds of the Hot Club, there is still something fresh about it — something that responds to the archetypes while remaining sincere and alive.

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JB:  Briefly talk about meeting Woody Allen, providing music for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Midnight in Paris,” and what you appreciate about working with him.

SW:  I absolutely loved working with Woody Allen and his team. I wrote music for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Magic in the Moonlight,” and “Rifkin’s Festival.” He is so easy to work with, especially because I think we understand each other intuitively. He doesn’t have to give me tons of instructions or information. He simply says something like, “I need a piece that captures the soul of Paris,” or gives me simple images like that. That allows me to dream.

Then I send him a bunch of tracks, and he either likes them or doesn’t, placing them wherever he wants. Such an easy and flawless process! I must also say that they are a joy to work with in the music and film industry — gracious, honest, and professional. That can be rare in our industries. It was an amazing experience.

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JB:  Let me ask you about the instruments you have found necessary to create your sound. Tell me about your guitars.

SW:  My main guitar is a 1943 Busato. I use a Big Tone pickup as well as a Kleio 47 Gabojo magnetic pickup.

My amps are an AER Compact 60 for the Big Tone and a Fender Blues Junior Jensen Special Edition for the Kleio 47.

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