Traditional Stage at First Night Raleigh Features Gypsy Roots, Moves to Church of the Good Shepherd

Nov. 29, 2011 - PRLog -- PineCone is proud to partner with Artsplosure to ring in 2012 as part of the annual First Night Raleigh celebration and thrilled to present a Django Reinhardt-inspired band called Gypsy Roots at a new venue, the Church of the Good Shepherd. Admission to any one of the band's four sets (7, 8, 9, and 10 p.m.) is included with the First Night Button.

Gypsy Roots is steeped in American blues, swing, Latin, and jazz, drawing upon the strong influence of music within the Gypsy diaspora, particularly the style pioneered by Django Reinhardt. Terms such as jazz manouche, Gypsy jazz, and "string swing" have been applied to this genre of music created and explored by Reinhardt and his Roma brethren. In Gypsy jazz, guitar is the primary solo instrument, followed by violin, although clarinet and accordion are also common. The rhythm guitar is played using a distinct percussive technique, "la pompe,” that essentially replaces the drums. An upright bass fills out most Gypsy jazz ensembles. Although many instrumental lineups exist, the most common is one that includes one lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars, and bass.

The tradition of this music continues today as contemporary Gypsy musicians move forward to create exhilarating and vibrant tapestries of sound with one ear firmly fixed on their rich cultural past. It is within this philosophy that Gypsy Roots creates its sound, full of passion, fun, fire, and promise. Gypsy Roots is Thomas Wakefield (guitar), James Beard (guitar), Robert Jacobs (accordian), Dennis Elliott (violin), Brian Sulser (bass), Larry Lyles (violin), and Rusty Farmer (bass).

This year's First Night Raleigh will have a French theme woven throughout the numerous programs and activities on the schedule, and legendary French Gypsy guitar genius Django Reinhardt's pioneering style of jazz guitar (sometimes called "hot" jazz guitar) has become a living musical tradition within French Gypsy culture.

Long-time First Night patrons will remember the customary venue for the Traditional Stage as the First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary; however, that church will be undergoing renovations during First Night this year, and the Traditional Stage will be housed in the Church of the Good Shepherd on Hillsborough Street. Tharrington Smith LLP sponsors the Traditional Stage, and Fairway Outdoor Advertising is the media sponsor.

Gypsy Roots' first recording was Chakra Odyssey, which is heavily influenced by both modern and traditional Gypsy jazz, or jazz manouche. Wakefield's original compositions on that CD are products of his experience as a jazz musician combined with the rich and varied music traditions of the Roma that he studied as an ethnomusicologist, though it is also heavily influenced specifically by the Gypsy jazz and hot swing of Django Reinhardt. Gypsy Roots is a project in ethnomusicology as much as it is in jazz/improvisational music, combining the skills and interests of the jazz musician and anthropologist/folklorist. Wakefied said his next recording project will be along a "world cultures meets jazz vein."

While the paths have been many and divergent, the goal of the journey has remained consistent: to entertain, enrich, and educate audiences while expanding their knowledge of world music cultures and folkways. Sound travels…and with it, the guitar of Thomas Wakefield.

Join the caravan, sit around the campfire and explore the sonic journeys of Gypsy Roots at the Traditional Stage at First Night Raleigh!

First Night festivities begin at 2 p.m. with the Children’s Celebration, followed by the People’s Procession down Fayetteville Street. Ring in 2012 with an evening full of music, dance, comedy, interactive activities and more in two dozen venues throughout downtown Raleigh!

Learn more about Gypsy Roots on the Traditional Stage: http://www.pinecone.org/event-detail.php?id=101

Learn more about First Night Raleigh: http://www.firstnightraleigh.com/

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PineCone—the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, is a private, nonprofit, charitable membership organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting traditional music, dance and other folk performing arts.