Why I like Gypsy Jazz so much
Here some personal thoughts, why I like Gypsy Jazz so much
I love Jazz music anyway. The harmonies are almost limitless and offer me many ways to play a solo and express myself.
Because Gypsy Jazz is originally acoustic music, I can fully concentrate on the harmonies and melodies, without getting distracted by the question, what sound I should use.
Sometimes, when I played electric guitar, I got lost in finding the right sound. Instead of playing the guitar, I was tweaking the knobs of my amplifier and my effects. Playing Gypsy Jazz means no distraction, just making music, nothing else.
No trying to impress other people with a big reverb or a neverending echo, a brutal distortion or a screaming wah-wah. Gypsy Swing is honest music. Me and my guitar, that's it.
I can play this music wherever I want, without need for electricity. For me, that's real freedom.
With Gypsy Swing, I can reach all kinds of fellows. From children to grandparents, everybody loves it. It's party music. No matter how wild and fast it's played, it never gets agressiv, but more happy.
The gypsy standards touch all my feelings, not only happiness, but also melancholy and even sadness. Sometimes all the feelings at the same time.
It takes only two guitar players to give a concert. In two minutes the party is ready: Sitting down, tuning the guitars and here we go.
No need for electric power, no carring around heavy amplifiers nor connecting cables.
Because Gypsy Jazz has the same principles as the ordinary Jazz, you just need to know a few standards and you will have the possibility, to join other musicians for a jam session, even you never met those guys before. see also Gypsy Jazz Jam Session
If you have the chance to visit a Gypsy Swing Festival, like for example the Django Reinhardt Festival at the end of june in Samois sur Seine in France, you will understand my love for this music and the followers. Everybody is sitting and jamming together.
To make it short: Gypsy Jazz is just fun!