Compilation albums happen for all sorts of reasons, but the new album Selmer #607 has as its centerpiece something quite unusual: a single guitar, played by all of the album's contributors.
That guitar is, well, Selmer #607. The brand (and style of guitar) is synonymous with Django Reinhardt, the Belgian-born gypsy who is the most revered player in the genre gypsy jazz. Selmers aren't like the more familiar "flat top" acoustic guitar. The style began with an Italian luthier named Mario Maccaferri. In the early 1930s, he perfected a guitar design incorporating a patented resonator system (basically, an extra wooden chamber within the guitar body). The design sported other differences, including a large D-shaped soundhole and an arched top something like that of a mandolin. The resonator never caught on, and after Maccaferri left Selmer, a second, related design with a small oval soundhole became popular, largely because Django Reinhardt played one.
Selmers are quite rare today (one is currently for sale at gypsyguitars.com for $32,000). Less than a thousand were ever made, and the company ceased producing guitars entirely in the early 1950s. Selmer copies, however, are increasingly common as gypsy jazz grows in popularity. You can expect to see plenty of Selmer-style guitars if you're near Smith College this week, when the Django in June festival draws players from all over the country.
You shouldn't expect to see Selmer #607, but Saturday night, you can see Adrien Moignard, one of the five players on the album Selmer #607, an attempt to gather the best of the new generation of French gypsy jazz players. The five share a startling combination of youth (all are in their 20s) and virtuosity. Their European brand of vertiginous soloing and impeccable technique is precisely what draws American players to events like Django in June, hoping to gain a similar savoir-faire.
Selmer #607's co-producer, Andre Baille Barrelle, offered some insights about this extraordinary album and the Selmer #607 guitar in a recent Advocate interview. "[The guitar's] one and unique owner till luthier Beranger Griot got his hands on it was Jean Mols. The guitar came with its original flight case, and Beranger did a little fixing on it, but nothing big," says Barrelle.
"The idea [for the album] was Ghali Hadefi's, co-producer and rhythm guitar player on the record. He knew all the guys for quite a while, and was looking for a way to get them together on a 'new generation' record. When he saw the guitar at his luthier friend Beranger Griot's, it all made sense."
Barrelle, who did much of the hands-on recording work, also addressed a question listeners tend to raise about gypsy jazz, where solos, even improvised ones, are often quite complex: was all of this improvised on the spot during recording?
"This is difficult to say as usually they have plans that they often put in their [solos]," says Barrelle. "For a given track, no take was identical to the other one, but you could find similarities. A good example is 'Billet Doux,' [performed] by Adrien Moignard. There is one take on the videos on the website which is different than the album's. You'll make your own opinion!"
Moignard's group, L'Ensemble Zaiti, marries the old-style sounds of gypsy jazz with a more modern, even experimental, brand of jazz. Moignard explained that he chose one tune in particular, "Impressions," for Selmer #607 to illustrate that old-meets-new vibe. He also spoke about his short but highly successful career in gypsy jazz: "I started to play gypsy jazz when I was 16, after listening to Django, Bireli Lagrene and Tchavolo Schmitt. I think that in gypsy jazz, you have a lot of room for improvisation, and that I like a lot. This music is old, but it still wants to grow."
Django in June workshops and jams take place through this weekend at Smith College, Northampton. L'Ensemble Zaiti plays Saturday, June 14. The Robin Nolan Trio plays Friday, June 13. Both shows take place at Helen Hills Chapel, Smith College at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20/advance, $22/door (visit djangoinjune.com for more info). Local gypsy jazz band Swing Caravan plays a dinner showcase at Sierra Grille Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m.; no cover charge.
