The famous Django Reinhard remained in the history of music a legend and the creator of the so called Gypsy Swing. And like any legend, he has numerous followers – Bireli Lagrene is considered to be the best of them.
Bireli was born in France in a traditional manouche-Gypsy family. He took the guitar when he was four, already played Reinhards hits at the age of eight and won a Gypsy music festival in Strasbourg at the age of twelve. He was a prodigy right from the beginning so after the festival he started his career as a musician. Later he moved to the United States, where he met famous musicians like Stéphane Grappelli, Benny Goodman and Benny Carter. After he stepped into the world of jazz, he performed with famous Jaco Pastorius and Al Dimeola, becoming a legend of the Gypsy Swing music. While it is literally impossible to become bigger than Django in this music, Bireli Lagrene managed to do one great thing: he gave this style a modern twist and new energy.
Well if you are interested in his music check out his Move (2005) album.
