Extrait de TRIBUTE
TO STEPHANE GRAPPELLI (2000),
avec: Didier LOCKWOOD (violin), Bireli LAGRENE
(guitar) and Niels H. ORSTED PEDERSEN (doublebass).
Biographies:
Didier LOCKWOOD:
"b. 11 February 1956, Calais, France. Lockwood
studied classical violin at the Conservatoire de Musique
de Paris, but exposure to the blues of Johnny Winter and
John Mayall persuaded him to cut short formal study in 1972
and form a jazz-rock group with his brother, Francis. A
three-year stint with Magma followed, but Lockwood was more
excited by the improvising of Jean-Luc Ponty, whom he heard
on Frank Zappa 's 'King Kong'. He listened to other jazz
violinists, particularly the Pole, Zbigniew Seifert and
the veteran Stephane Grappelli. The latter quickly realised
the talent in Lockwood and played with him whenever possible.
During the late 70s Lockwood played and recorded with many
major European and American artists including Tony Williams,
Gordon Beck, John Etheridge, Daniel Humair and Michal Urbaniak.
In 1981, Lockwood recorded Fusion, which typified the approach
he followed throughout the 80s: a solid rock-based rhythm
with plenty of soloing room for lightning improvisations
on his 160-year-old violin. " (source http://music.yahoo.com/)
Bireli LAGRENE:
"b. 4 September 1966. Saverne, Alsace,
France. The son of Fiso Lagrene, a popular guitarist in
pre-war France, Lagrene displayed a prodigious talent as
a very young child. Born into a gypsy community, his origins
and his fleet, inventive playing style inevitably generated
comparisons with Django Reinhardt. In 1978, he won a prize
at a festival at Strasbourg and subsequently made a big
impact during a televised gypsy festival. In his early teenage
years Lagrene toured extensively playing concerts and festivals
across Europe, often accompanied by distinguished jazz artists
such as Benny Carter, Benny Goodman , Stephane Grappelli
and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. He also made his first
record Routes To Django, which helped to prove that early
estimates of his capabilities were not excessive. An outstanding
technician, Lagrene has revealed influences other than Reinhardt,
happily incorporating bebop phraseology, rock rhythms and
Brazilian music into his work. By the late 80s he had moved
substantially from his early Reinhardt-style to fully embrace
jazz-rock and other electronically-aided fusions, a shift
which, while extending his popularity to a wider audience,
tended to lower his standing among jazz purists. In mid-summer
1991, he was one of several leading guitarists featured
at the International Guitar Festival in Seville, Spain."
(source http://music.yahoo.com/)
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