Biréli Lagrène
An adept French guitarist, Biréli Lagrène has drawn praise for his fertile blend of swinging continental jazz, post-bop, and fusion. Emerging with Routes to Django: Live in 1980, the then 13-year-old guitarist was quickly praised as an heir to the legendary Django Reinhardt. Over time, however, he broadened his approach, exploring artists like Wes Montgomery, Larry Coryell, and Jimi Hendrix, influences he displayed on 1988's Inferno and 2008's Electric Side. Nonetheless, as evidenced by 1992's Standards, 2005's Move, and 2018's Storyteller, Lagrène remains a leading proponent of both the straight-ahead and gypsy jazz traditions. Lagrène was born into a Romani family on September 4, 1966, in Saverne, Alsace, France. Both his father and grandfather had been prominent guitarists, and Lagrène was first introduced to the instrument around age four. Under his father's influence, Lagrène was soon absorbing the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt, as well as recordings by violinist Stéphane Grappelli and the Hot Club of France. By age seven, he was already a gifted performer and garnered increasing attention throughout the 1970s, especially after he won a prize at a festival in Strasbourg in 1978 and performed on television as part of an appearance at a Gypsy festival broadcast. In 1981, he made his solo debut with Routes to Django: Live. The studio-album Fifteen followed a year later, featuring more Reinhardt songs and jazz standards. During his late teens, Lagrène's musical taste began to evolve as he started playing electric guitar and absorbing players like Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and Jimi Hendrix. In 1984, he appeared at the Django Reinhardt Tribute at Fat Tuesdays in New York, where he showcased his stylistically expansive sound. He signed to Blue Note and issued a handful of genre-crossing albums: 1988's Inferno, 1989's Foreign Affairs, and 1990's Acoustic Moments. All of these albums found the guitarist exploring a mix of post-bop, fusion, and Reinhardt-style pieces. The straight-ahead Standards, with bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Andre Ceccarelli, arrived in 1992. With 1995's My Favorite Django, Lagrène returned to his love of traditional gypsy swing. Over the next decade, he made occassional forays into fusion, while continuing to balance his love of Django Reinhardt, straight-ahead jazz and bop influences. He also kept a steady live schedule, appearing live at Marciac in 1994 and at New York's Blue Note in 1997 with Larry Coryell and Billy Cobham. In 1998, he issued the Frank Sinatra tribute Old Blues Eyes, with pianist Maurice Vander, bassist Chris Minh Doky, and drummer Ceccarelli. In 2002, he issued Gypsy Project, yet another album that found him returning to Reinhardt and the classic jazz songbook. Similar albums followed, including 2005's Move, 2006's Djangology, and 2007's Just the Way You Are. A year later, he issued the fusion-influenced Electric Side. He then paired with guitarist Hono Winterstein and bassist Diego Imbert for 2009's Gipsi Trio. That same year, he also released his own Summertime. In 2012, he recorded a straight-ahead jazz set for Universal entitled Mouvements with saxophonist Franck Wolf, drummer Jean-Marc Robin, and Hammond organist Jean-Yves Jung. Also in 2012, Lagrène was asked to participate in the 50th career anniversary celebration for violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, during which he appeared in a trio with Ponty and bassist Stanley Clarke. Inspired by their chemistry on stage that night, the trio stayed in touch, and in 2015 paired again for the studio album D-Stringz on Impulse! In 2018, the guitarist issued Storyteller, featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and percussionist Mino Cinélu.© Matt Collar /TiVo Read more
An adept French guitarist, Biréli Lagrène has drawn praise for his fertile blend of swinging continental jazz, post-bop, and fusion. Emerging with Routes to Django: Live in 1980, the then 13-year-old guitarist was quickly praised as an heir to the legendary Django Reinhardt. Over time, however, he broadened his approach, exploring artists like Wes Montgomery, Larry Coryell, and Jimi Hendrix, influences he displayed on 1988's Inferno and 2008's Electric Side. Nonetheless, as evidenced by 1992's Standards, 2005's Move, and 2018's Storyteller, Lagrène remains a leading proponent of both the straight-ahead and gypsy jazz traditions.
Lagrène was born into a Romani family on September 4, 1966, in Saverne, Alsace, France. Both his father and grandfather had been prominent guitarists, and Lagrène was first introduced to the instrument around age four. Under his father's influence, Lagrène was soon absorbing the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt, as well as recordings by violinist Stéphane Grappelli and the Hot Club of France. By age seven, he was already a gifted performer and garnered increasing attention throughout the 1970s, especially after he won a prize at a festival in Strasbourg in 1978 and performed on television as part of an appearance at a Gypsy festival broadcast. In 1981, he made his solo debut with Routes to Django: Live. The studio-album Fifteen followed a year later, featuring more Reinhardt songs and jazz standards.
During his late teens, Lagrène's musical taste began to evolve as he started playing electric guitar and absorbing players like Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and Jimi Hendrix. In 1984, he appeared at the Django Reinhardt Tribute at Fat Tuesdays in New York, where he showcased his stylistically expansive sound. He signed to Blue Note and issued a handful of genre-crossing albums: 1988's Inferno, 1989's Foreign Affairs, and 1990's Acoustic Moments. All of these albums found the guitarist exploring a mix of post-bop, fusion, and Reinhardt-style pieces. The straight-ahead Standards, with bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Andre Ceccarelli, arrived in 1992.
With 1995's My Favorite Django, Lagrène returned to his love of traditional gypsy swing. Over the next decade, he made occassional forays into fusion, while continuing to balance his love of Django Reinhardt, straight-ahead jazz and bop influences. He also kept a steady live schedule, appearing live at Marciac in 1994 and at New York's Blue Note in 1997 with Larry Coryell and Billy Cobham. In 1998, he issued the Frank Sinatra tribute Old Blues Eyes, with pianist Maurice Vander, bassist Chris Minh Doky, and drummer Ceccarelli. In 2002, he issued Gypsy Project, yet another album that found him returning to Reinhardt and the classic jazz songbook. Similar albums followed, including 2005's Move, 2006's Djangology, and 2007's Just the Way You Are. A year later, he issued the fusion-influenced Electric Side.
He then paired with guitarist Hono Winterstein and bassist Diego Imbert for 2009's Gipsi Trio. That same year, he also released his own Summertime. In 2012, he recorded a straight-ahead jazz set for Universal entitled Mouvements with saxophonist Franck Wolf, drummer Jean-Marc Robin, and Hammond organist Jean-Yves Jung. Also in 2012, Lagrène was asked to participate in the 50th career anniversary celebration for violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, during which he appeared in a trio with Ponty and bassist Stanley Clarke. Inspired by their chemistry on stage that night, the trio stayed in touch, and in 2015 paired again for the studio album D-Stringz on Impulse! In 2018, the guitarist issued Storyteller, featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and percussionist Mino Cinélu.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Storyteller (feat. Larry Grenadier, Mino Cinélu)
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by naïve on Nov 9, 2018
Indispensable JAZZ NEWS24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Solo Suites
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by PEEWEE! on May 6, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gipsy Trio
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Aug 24, 2009
Bireli Lagrene's long and outstanding career as a Django Reinhardt disciple has been reinforced time and time again, while he also makes inroads to ex ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
5 Original Album Classics
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Sep 9, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Summertime
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Feb 16, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Moments
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 30, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Duet
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 17, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gipsy Project
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Oct 2, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Standards
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Parlophone (France) on Jun 1, 1992
This is one of guitarist Bireli Lagrene's better jazz albums of the 1990s. By this time he had pretty much discarded his original Django Reinhardt inf ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le meilleur des années Blue Note / EMI
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Parlophone (France) on May 29, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Electric Side
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Sep 8, 2008
Bireli Lagrene has been so indelibly associated with the Gypsy guitar style of Django Reinhardt since the early '80s, and has recorded within that wel ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
3 Original Album Classics
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
3 Original Classics
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Eyes
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jun 16, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Take (Live at Studio Sextan)
Biréli Lagrène
Latin America - Released by naïve on Mar 3, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Inferno
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on Jan 1, 1987
Fans of guitarist Bireli Lagrene's early work probably will not care for this often passionate CD. Lagrene, who had switched from swing to fusion a fe ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Favorite Django
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 1, 1995
When guitarist Bireli Lagrene first debuted as a 13-year-old, he sounded like an exact duplicate of Django Reinhardt. Since that time, Lagrene has sou ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Tribute to Django Reinhardt
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by Jazzpoint Records on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Take (feat. Larry Grenadier, Mino Cinélu)
Biréli Lagrène
Jazz - Released by naïve on Oct 19, 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo