FAPY LAFERTIN ET LE JAZZ

"The Jazz guitarrist Django Reinhardt died 40 years ago, but to many people his music is alive ever. There is a living tradition among Django's own people, the gypsies of Europe, who are still producing brilliant musicians playing guitar in the style he perfected which was a wonderful marriage of jazz and gypsy music. Perhaps the best ever of the gypsy bands was the Belgian group Waso. Their solo guitarrist Fapy Lafertin became a by-word for his fiery re-enactment of Django's role. When Fapy guested with the band Le Jazz in 1992, he jumped at the chance to tour Britain with them. Django Reinhardt was the creator of a sound which, once heard, doesn't leave you alone, but insinuates itself into your bloodstream. That sound is in good hands with Le Jazz. With Fapy Lafertin aboard, they will unmissable."
Festival's Programme

Several years ago some English musicians were looking for this legendary Gypsy guitarrist for nearly ten years, a man who had disappeared within the depth and breadth of Europe.

Luckily for us, the English guys eventually found this musician, and brought him back to tour England with them. The year was 1992.

Fapy Lafertin performed with the English band Le Jazz on the evening of Friday 1st of August at the Wilberforce Suite, a rather elegant room, with chandeliers and sundries, located on the ground floor of the Royal Hotel, well into the fourth day of Hull's International Jazz Festival.

There was a sense of relaxed and quiet expectation when I walked into the room, after meeting Dave Porter, the Festival's organiser, and Greg Simpson, our photographer, on the spacious and cool reception area of the hotel. Wilberforce Suite was heaving with people of all ages and backgrounds, talking leisurely around tables, glasses of beer and wine all over, the stage being on the floor of the room, with the windows behind it.

This was a good audience, in spite of fierce competition from Courtney Pine and his band at Hull New Theatre. A BBC Radio 3 technician was hovering about, timing with his mobile phone the recording technicians in the BBC truck parked outside the main door of the hotel, as this evening performance was being recorded for future broadcasting in Radio 3.

I almost did not notice when Le Jazz walked in, they were smoothly taking their places under the spotlights. Dave Kelbie introduced Fapy Lafertin, that guitarrist they found somewhere in Europe a few years ago, the pleasure they had for the past few years of touring together: "Who said never work with animals and Gypsies?"

Django Reinhardt produced the first truly European jazz, American jazz musicians just cannot do this sound, the fusion of two back street cultures. Fapy Lafertin grew up within this musical tradition, which he has pursued throughout his career in Europe, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands, where he lives.

The sound is quite unique, at the fringes of 'traditional' jazz, a continuous and rich cascade of notes pouring out of the guitars, Fapy playing to the backdrop of the bass, with the high pitch of the violin punctuating the melody. Courtney Pine, from the Marilyn Monroe repertoire, was played, a fast and rather cheerful piece, warming the audience with the draping quality of the sound, insinuating itself in every crevice in the room.

A slightly melancholic tune coming out of the violin followed, Time in my Hands, the notes from the guitars being excruciatingly slow with a smooth rhythm, beautiful subtle colours, like the seconds flowing throughout the day, with sudden bursts of energy here and there which soon merged again with the flow...

Diminishing Politeness was described by Dave Kelbie as "less beautiful", intense bursts of sound, the guitar lingering to a backdrop of almost frenzied rhythm, the violin occasionally flying quite high.

A piece from the Stephen Grapelli's repertoire followed, displaying Fapy's virtuosity with the guitar within the confines of the distinctive Grapelli's sound. The audience by this time is really warming up to the gentle and persuasive sound of Fapy et Le Jazz, the "Wows!" and "Ahhs!" are coming out now from the back.

A quick piece was played next, the guitars and the violin talking each other to the bass as counterpoint, Fapy's guitar obsessive in the incesant profussion of notes being produced by it, being contrasted by Minor Swing, with its relaxed tune and slow rhythm, the laments of those long nights in badly lit back streets floating out...

This sound has a very insinuant quality, as it was well described in the programme: Fapy et Le Jazz played it, we listened, we went home, and it stayed with us. The acoustics of Wilberforce Suite suited well to the band, a rather intimate and soft space, darkly lit, almost like an up-market tavern... although somehow I do not think that the Royal Hotel would like this description!

Time from Hungaria was played after the short break, Tony Bevir behind the counter selling the two albums Le Jazz has produced with Fapy, Swing Guitars and Hungaria, although Fapy has produced many CDs in Europe. Tony's virtuosity with the bass was rewarded with the moans and cries from the crowd, finishing to an almost standing applause.

Their next song, Caravan, was a very intense and rapid piece contrasting a languid quality of the melody, time passing by in the back of a van, slow long hours punctuated by intense shorts bursts of action. A certain Central European flavour was lurching behind its tune, a rhytmic guitar with Spanish undertones.

Warm dark colours!

A fast number by Irving Berlin was the next piece, a fast tune, a polka, with an intense polichromatic feel. I even found myself applauding to the rhythm of the violin! The guitars were then crying to the melody of a Mexican song, insistent, a love story.

The characteristic Irving Berlin's spacious sound was next in their repertoire, deep spaces coming out one after the other from the instruments, long dark European winter nigths...

Steve Elsworth's violin and Fapy's guitar opened the next piece, a Franz Lizt's song.

Where's my Baby Tonight? was played next, a beautiful song.

"Thanks for turning up, in spite of severe competition from Mr. Pine", were David Kelbie's parting words, Fapy finishing the performance with a solo guitar supported by Le Jazz, as the evening drew to a close.

Fapy - a nickname - Lafertin et Le Jazz has recently played in Budapest, Lisbon, and throughout Europe in the past. Music for them is more than just getting together playing a few notes with the aid of electronic and digital technology. When music becomes a bonding process, then you play it from the heart, not from your bank account.

Their plans for the near future? "To get up tomorrow at 5 o'clock in the morning as we are travelling to Cambridgeshire". Their long term plans? "Not to be travelling at 5 o'clock in the morning again!"

FAPY et at the Royal Hotel

FAPY
et
at the Royal Hotel