TEACHERS

Gypsyjazz Teachers

MICHAEL HOROWITZ - GUITAR
Location: Seattle
info@djangobooks.com
206-528-9873
djangobooks.com

Michael holds a B.A. from the Berklee College of Music, Boston; an M.A. in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington, Seattle; and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington. During 2002 Michael received a Fulbright fellowship to conduct his dissertation research among the Sinti Gypsy jazz guitarists of The Netherlands. His teachers include Fapy Lafertin, Martin Limberger, Jan Limberger, and Paulus Schaefer.
In addition to academic pursuits, Michael has maintained an active performing schedule as both a band leader and a side man for numerous ensembles such as Hot Club Sandwich, Pearl Django, Zazou, and The Djangomatics. Michael is also a sought after DADGAD-style guitarist and has accompanied numerous Irish musicians such as Randal Bays and Skip Healy. He is the leader of the Seattle-based klezmer rock band Heavy Shtetl.

ALFONSO PONTICELLI - GUITAR
Location: Chicago
info@gypsyjazz.us
312-409-1601
swinggitan.com

A gypsy flamenco guitarist as well, Alfonso has been to Cordoba, Spain to study with the great flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo. Alfonso is a multi-instrumentalist, having won the 1994 U.S. National Mountain Dulcimer Championship, and playing both banjo and guitar with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. He brings a wide and colorful repertoire from his many adventures in Spain, Italy, France, and all over the United States, including the Iridium in New York, where the legendary Les Paul invited Alfonso to play as a special guest with his trio. Alfonso is also a music educator in Chicago and introduced Django's music to the midwest United States nearly a decade ago, when he began teaching a weekly Django Guitar Styles Class at the Old Town School of Folk Music, one of the largest and most renowned folk music centers in the U.S. Alfonso is often invited to teach his popular workshops at festivals around the country.

TOM CONWAY - GUITAR
Location: Maui, Hawaii
tomconway@hawaii.rr.com
808-871-1141
tomconway.net

Teaches at "Bounty Music". Tom is the lead guitarist for the Maui-based band Gypsy Pacific and has studied privately with Jorge Strunz of Strunz & Farah, Ted Greene and Lenny Breau. In addition he was awarded a scholarship to the Wayne State University jazz program in Detroit, Michigan. Has a very clear understanding of harmony and improvisation as it applies to gypsy jazz. Tom has been profiled in Guitar Player's "Spotlight" column and recently he was the subject of a feature article in Vintage Guitar magazine titled "Gypsy Jazz from Hawaii".

DENNIS C - GUITAR
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
dennis1043@yahoo.com
514-842-9349
flechedor.com

A music graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and recipient of the top scholarship award for guitarists from the Berklee College Of Music. Disciple of Fapy Lafertin, Stochelo Rosenberg. Frequently traveling to Europe to study with the masters. The only teacher in town specializing in correct technique in the django style and authentic transcriptions of gypsy jazz artists.

RIP MCCOLLOUGH - GUITAR
Location: Portland, Oregon
ripmccollough@hotmail.com
503-810-4275

Rip attended the Berklee College of Music, Boston; an M.A. and played rhythm behind Stephane Wrembel for over a year. A self proclaimed player of all styles of music but currently focusing on Django and gypsy jazz.

PETE KREBS - GUITAR
Location: Portland, Oregon
kidtulsa@hotmail.com
503-730-1313

DON PRICE - GUITAR
Location: Sacramento, California
gypsyjazzguitar@hotmail.com
(916) 727-5299
Don Price | GypsyJazzGuitar

From 1982-84 Don performed regularly in the Los Angeles area as a teacher and "guitar for hire" in various jazz venues. In 1997 the News & Review described Don''''s playing as "...jazz so hot it has to be cool..." Continuing his education, he attended Dick Grove School of Music and benefited from jazz masters Joe Diorio, Duke Miller, Pat Martino, Joe Pass, and of course his mentor Larry Coryell. As an educator, Don has taken part in instructional clinics with Frank Gambale, Al DiMeola, Steve Morse and Larry Coryell. He was a faculty member of the Guitar Activity Center (a vocational school originally started by the late M.I.T guitarist and senior faculty member Vic Trigger). Don currently teaches guitar at City College, and takes students on a private basis at Woodland Music & Guitar. His clinics have drawn enthusiastic responses and he has an instructional method that is currently used at the college level. He is currently working on an Gypsy Jazz Chord/Scale book for Mel Bey.

SAMMO MILTICH - GUITAR
Location: Grand Rapids, MN
guitar_sam5@hotmail.com
(218)327-1492
clearwaterhotclub.com

Sam Miltich is a teacher of the gypsy jazz guitar style. He has performed at Django festivals and concerts both in the United States as well as Europe. He has performed with his own group, The Clearwater Hot Club, the Robin Nolan Trio, Paul Mehling and the Hot Club of San Francisco, and Dorado and Samson Schmitt, as well as playing with other gypsy guitarist and violinists. As a teacher he will provide a strong technichal approach to the guitar, emphasizing both lead and rhythm techniques required to play this style. He will also teach basic jazz theory, repetoire building, and musical history of the style.

PAUL MEHLING - GUITAR
Location: San Francisco, CA
Pazzo@hcsf.com
(415)931-0909
HCSF

Guitarist Paul Mehling, leader of the Hot Club of San Francisco for 13 years, has 9 Cds in the Gypsy-Swing tradition of Django Reinhardt & the Hot Club de France. A professional musician for over 25 years, he is also a multi-instrumentalist playing violin, mandolin, tenor and plectrum banjos. Internationally recognized as one of the leading players in the gypsy tradition he is equally recognized for his contributions to teaching this unique style. Having produced 2 videos for Homespun Tapes, one on rhythm techniques and one on soloing, with a 3 rd volume dealing specifically with the right hand due out in 2005. 1997 citation for excellence in Jazz Education by the IAJE. Staff columnist for Flatpicking Guitar magazine, column titled "Gypsy Guitar" Staff teacher for the Jazz Masters Workshops produced by Bruce Foreman since 1999 (see JazzMastersWorkshops.com) Festivals: Festival de Django Reinhardt (France)-2000, Festival de Jazz (Mexico)- 1996,1998, 2000, Django Reinhardt Festival (Iceland) 2001, Sacramento Jazz Jubilee-1994-1999, Bay Area DjangoFestival (California)2004 For more information see www.HCSF.com See also: Masters of the Jazz Guitar (Miller Freeman Books,1999) page 160, chapter on the legacy of Django Acoustic Guitar Magazine February 1996 cover story; Jazz Manouche by Michael Simmons, page 36

STEPHANE WREMBEL - GUITAR
Location: Oslo, Norway
swgypsyjazz@yahoo.com
541-327-3872
stephanewrembel.com

While still regularly playing in the gypsy camps, Wrembel began bringing the music away from the campfires to festivals and clubs around France, making a name on the festival circuit performing traditional and Django inspired gypsy jazz. His quartet, Manoque, was awarded Best Young Band at Festival Jazz d'Avon in 1999 and in 2000. Wrembel had the honor of performing at the Tzigane Circus for the "Festival of the Imagination", the Jazzforville Festival and he appears every year at the Django Reinhardt Festival, playing with the gypsies.
Wrembel was impressed with the gypsies' oral tradition of teaching music to their children. "They keep the music sincere. They pass it from father to son, playing it within their family." Wrembel had been giving private lessons since 1991 and had started his own music school, Musique Pour Tous (Music for All), in 1994, teaching guitar, harmony and composition to approximately 30 students a year. The method, based on learning the fundamentals of the instrument before integrating more complicated studies, is still taught at the 1999 expansion of Wrembel's school, The Institut Europeen de Formation Aux Arts Rythmiques (European Institute for the Art of Rhythm).
In 2000, after finishing his studies in Arranging and Composition at the American School of Modern Music in Paris, Wrembel left his students in the hands of other teachers and moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music on an International Scholarship. Recently graduated with a Professional Diploma in Performance from Berklee, Wrembel plays regularly in New England and has just completed recording his first US album.

DON KING - GUITAR
Location: Los Angeles/South Bay
dking118@earthlink.net
(949) 443 6053
clubdjango.com

Guitarist Don King, the founder of the group Club Django in Los Angeles has performed and recorded with many of Southern California leading blues and R & B bands. He is also featured on several recordings on the avant-garde label Roughedge Records. Don specializes in the verbatim transcription and performance of works by Django Reinhardt and other great Gypsy guitarists and has published a book of eleven Gypsy waltzes transcriptions. Don is responsible for most of Club Django’s arrangements

PATRICK BERROGAIN- GUITAR
Location: San Diego, California
patberro@mac.com
(760) 943 0231 Cell: (858) 776 5299
hotclubsandiego.com

A French native performing and recording artist, Patrick BERROGAIN is a guitarist, composer, arranger and teacher. His years of performing experience combined with a broad range of styles enabled him to create a wide following among San Diego jazz aficionados.

Patrick grew up in "Provence" south of France, where he began playing the musette repertoire and the the music of Django Reinhardt. He then began touring with the Italian pop rock band "Delta Landa". He moved to San Diego in 1985 after Graduating from M.I.(Musician's Institute).
In 1998, he formed the Hot Club of San Diego with Alain Cola ofDell' Arte Instruments, exposing San Diego to the acoustic jazzmusic of Django Reinhardt.

Some of his credits include:
1985 Club performance in trio with guitar legend Tal Farlow
1986 Live TV show and interview on KUSI Channel 9/51 (Video tape available on request)
1987 Performance with Jazz legend Anita O'Day
1993 Opening act for Al Dimeola with The "French Connection" Fusion Jazz Band
1997 Release of the "Between Now and Then" CD, followed by European tour
1998 Gave sponsored workshops for the Musician Institute in Europe
1999 NBC 7/39 special TV appearance with the Hot Club of San Diego
1999 Live appearance at the "Guitar Hour" KSDS Jazz station
2000 Live concert on San Diego Jazz station KSDS
2002 and 2003 concerts at the Django fest festival Whidbey Island
2003 Concert at the Musican institute with the Hot Club of San diego

Teaching:Patrick teaches Jazz improvisation and the Gypsy Jazz guitar style in San diego, gives Master classes on Django style guitar at the Musician Institutes as well as clinics for Selmer Maccafery style guitar maker "Dell'arte".

Recordings:- Between Now and Then on SBE records featuring among others Mike Wofford, Bob Magnusson and Peter Sprague- The Hot Club of San Diego "Live on KSDS"- The Hot club of San Diego "West Swing"

RICK LEPPANEN — UPRIGHT BASS
Location: Seattle
pearldjango.com

Rick Leppanen, the premier northwest gypsy jazz bassist, bringing a solid sense of swing and a strong jazz background. January 1999 brought the release of Pearl DJango's Mystery Pacific album, and with that CD Pearl Django solidified it's reputation as one of the most versatile and rhythmically compelling acoustic groups playing today.

BENNY BRYDERN — VIOLIN
Location: Los Angeles
filmcomposer@usa.com
hotclubquartet.com

Benny teaches swing violin and give workshops.

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