The first time a Calgary double bass player experimented with gypsy jazz music, she knew she didn’t want it to be her last.
“It just totally captivated me,” said Tess Bassie, band leader of the Bow Djangos. “I went ‘Oh my God, what is this? This is great, this is such fun music. I want to do more of it.’”
The Bow Djangos will bring their gypsy jazz music to Okotoks this weekend as one of the acts at the A Room Full of Sound concert Saturday night. Barry Luft and Steve Pineo will also perform at the concert.
Gypsy jazz is the most accessible type of jazz that is melodic with songs based on minor chord progressions, explained Bassie.
“It’s quite mesmerizing and captivating in that way, but at the same time (has) lots of energy,” she said.
Bassie said gypsy jazz features a Latin element, is catchy and makes people want to dance. Some of the band’s followers are swing dancers, she explained.
The sound was developed by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France Quintet, said Bassie. Reinhardt was a gypsy and violinist whose hand injury helped give birth to a specific guitar sound.
“Because of the crippling of two of his fingers on his left hand, he had to develop a different sort of a style of playing,” Bassie said.
Gypsy jazz, sometimes known as gypsy swing, features a special type of guitar called a selmer maccaferri, which has a suspended body and gives the guitar a percussive sound, she explained. Guitars in gypsy jazz bands often take the role of the drum.
After playing gypsy jazz for the first time at a swing workshop in B.C., Bassie returned to Calgary where hardly anyone was playing the style of music. The Bow Djangos were born in 2003 when Bassie struck up at trio. Since then, there have been changes among members of the band, but the Bow Djangos have managed to release an album.
The band plays mostly gypsy jazz, a lot of Django Reinhardt tunes, pieces from contemporary gypsy jazz artists and some vocal French and swing songs from the ’30s and ’40s. Bassie has also written a couple of original songs.
The Bow Djangos’ Saturday performance will feature Django Reinhardt music with Bassie on double bass, Tristan Euzen on guitar, Cédric Blary on clarinet, guitarist Phill West and guest violinist Karl Roth.
Bassie said it is likely the band’s performance will introduce people to a genre they have never heard before. She said the band loves playing for dances and concerts and feeds off the audience’s energy.
“The audience really makes a big difference to any live musician and we really appreciate audience involvement,” she said.
As for future plans, the band is working on its second album and has laid three tracks so far, Bassie explained. She anticipates the album to be finished in the fall.
“Our goal is to continue to perfect our craft and play for great audiences,” she said.
A Room Full of Sound hits the stage a the Okotoks United Church Saturday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or online at aroomfullofsound.com.
