1. swing gitan (traditional)
2. what is this thing called love? (cole porter)
3. new york in november
4. minor swing (django reinhardt)
5. nuages (django reinhardt)
6. i can't give you anything but love (d. fields/j. mchugh)
7. melodie au crepuscule (django reinhardt)
8. china boy (d. wilfred/p. bouteljie)
9. stompin' at decca (django reinhardt)
10. montagne sainte genevieve (django reinhardt)
11. lady be good (george gershwin/ira gershwin)
12. pretext (django reinhardt)

ludovic beier accordion
jon burr bass*
serge camps rhythm guitar
james carter tenor sax
angelo debarre lead guitar
jay leonhardt bass
pete malinverni piano*
florin niculescu electric violin*
ken peplowski clarinet
babik reinhardt electric guitar*
dorado schmitt lead guitar and violin
samson schmitt rhythm guitar
grady tate brushes
leroy williams drums*

recorded at birdland, new york
2002 except * 2000
produced by pat philips and ettore stratta

kind of blue 10001

Recorded live at Birdland, NY, in 2002 - except for the Babik Reinhardt bonus track (2000). The "Django Reinhardt Festival Live at Birdland" was created in 2000 by producers Ettore Stratta and Pat Philips and has since become an annual event, demonstrating how special Django's style of music was/is and the brilliant talents of the artists who have devoted themselves to it.

The artistry and virtuosity of these players rank them as some of the finest in the world. Bringing together the American jazz greats with European musicians has added an exciting new dimension.

The particular year of this CD was one of the best... Dorado Schmitt and Angelo Debarre on lead guitar, Samson Schmitt and Serge Camps on rhythm, Ludovic Beier on accordion... all from France. The Americans were James Carter on sax, Ken Peplowski on clarinet, Jay Leonhardt on bass and Grady Tate on drums. This recording uniquely captures the electricity and magic of that interplay.

...guitarists Angelo Debarre, Dorado and Samson Schmitt, and Serge Camps all compressing a lifetime's experience into a couple of choruses, causing the listener to laugh with delight at their flying fingers...
    -- The Independent on Sunday


...marvellous live recording... the performance is simply scintillating... this is as hot as jazz can be without the players actually spontaneously combusting.
    -- BBC Music Magazine

Recording:
Performance:
    -- Hi-Fi News (UK)


...absurdly entertaining stuff... only wish I'd been there for real
    -- Eastern Daily Press (UK)

...considering the excellent sound quality and detailed track-by-track personnel, it has plenty to offer
    -- JazzTimes (US)