French guitar
October 16, 2007 6:34 AM   Subscribe

French jazz guitar is often mistaken for swing guitar, or gypsy style guitar. It's true that great french guitarists, like Bireli Lagrene or Christian escoudé, are still playing in this style. But curiosity is a trademark of most of the French guitarists, and even Bireli Lagrene gave a try to various kinds of jazz. French guitarists have been attracted to Be Bop from the start (btw, even Django has been). Maybe you've heard of Sacha Distel ?

Well, Before he envoyed international exposure as a composer for Dionne Warwick (god, this should be a post about her), he had concentrated for years on the guitar (several excerpts in this article).

Recently, French guitar has evolved in several directions, with the soft touch of Eric Lohrer (sounds under "écouter"), the infectious drive of Sylvain Luc (several vids), the coloured soloing of louis winsberg (before, in another project) over a French songbook, the rough sounds of Marc Ducret (Tim Berne's sideman) or of Manu Codjia, the virtuosity of Christophe Godin (slap lesson / one-man band). Make your picks.
posted by nicolin (6 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh I love this stuff, great post.
posted by nola at 6:39 AM on October 16, 2007 [1 favorite]


Hey, nicolin, just below you got John Fahey... it's a guitar post pile on!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:47 AM on October 16, 2007


I love French jazz guitar! Thanks for the links!
posted by briank at 10:00 AM on October 16, 2007


This is like Christmas early...thank you!
posted by contessa at 1:53 PM on October 16, 2007


Don't forget Marc Antoine.
posted by netbros at 4:13 PM on October 16, 2007


Just wanted to add : Jean-pierre Llabador, Gérard Pansanel, southerners.
posted by nicolin at 1:39 PM on October 17, 2007


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