Babik–the band, not the famous son of Django Reinhardt whose name they’ve adopted as their own–has done something remarkable. In an age when even some of the biggest names in the Gypsy Jazz world often have trouble attracting a stateside crowd, this Buffalo, NY based group has built a loyal following. Regularly performing to sell out crowds (the release party for their new album American Gypsy drew over five hundred people), they’ve quietly become a regional force, in turn helping to attract other acts to the area.
That spirit of camaraderie and outreach also led to a collaboration with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, bringing the lush arrangements of Brent Havens (Pink Floyd, Queen) to a collection of Reinhardt melodies. The result, performed before an audience of thousands, was an overwhelming smash–and one that, in keeping with the group’s self-appointed role as ambassadors for Django’s music, introduced a whole new crowd to the joys of Gypsy Jazz.
With American Gypsy, the band has moved into new territory, producing an album made up mostly of original compositions. It’s an eclectic collection, reflecting the disparate interests of the quartet, whose tastes range from jazz fusion to Tibetan musical bowls. Tightly arranged and brimming with the personality that makes the band such a success, the album, over a year in the making, marks a new musical high point for the group. Djangology caught up with rhythm guitarist Joshua Assad to talk about the new album and Babik’s plans for the future.
Djangology: Babik seems to have grown tremendously since your debut album (Pronounced Bah-beek) was released a couple of years ago. While that album was a collection of fairly well-known Gypsy Jazz tunes, your new album American Gypsy features a lot of originals–ten out of the thirteen tracks were composed by members of the band. Was that a planned change, or a natural evolution?
Joshua Assad: A bit of both. A big part of the reason that the members of this group love this style so much, is the freedom it allows to express your own style, energy, and spontaneity. I think that may be the big reason that we have experienced such growth and success. People have come to expect our shows to include wacky humor, rock and roll riffs, and a genuine spirit of joy for the music we play. Each of us have our own musical backgrounds, tastes, and style, and we really wanted to explore the variety of those to create an album that speaks to all of those difference through one voice. This group has always had the goal, to create a new voice based on the traditions of this music. Even the name Babik was focused on paying homage to the master while thinking forwardly to a new generation. We can’t deny that Elvis, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin happened between 1953 and now.
The title American Gypsy neatly sums up Babik’s different influences. Is it difficult to reconcile your interest in Gypsy Jazz with an American musical upbringing? What sort of influences do each of you bring to the band?
I think that most American groups playing this style do have a bit of an American sound to them. Being raised this side of swing vs that side of musette and traditional gypsy music has its obvious effects on the output of the player. What this group has always tried to do is to learn what we can from the gypsy jazz greats and create our own sound with it. We know we will never be Django or the Hot Club of France, nor do we want to sound exactly like them. Let Angelo Debarre be as amazing as Angelo Debarre is. So the challenge is to woodshed through the repertoire, spend years honing your skills, and create something new.
American Gypsy includes a lot of guests–Vladimir Mollov on accordion, Kathleen Ashwill’s cello, and Brian “Dr. Jazz” Bauer among others–any plans to tour with an extended group in support of the album?
No plans for a tour with an extended group, although we did perform the entire CD live with every guest at our release show. It was an absolute blast. Some of these tunes had never been performed live, and a lot of them had never been heard live with the special guests who appear on the album. Our goal in the studio with this project was to create the best album that we can. That was it. Our one and only goal. We had “Romungro” written at the beginning stages of this project and I felt that tune was screaming for some great accordion playing, so we called in Vlado. From there we took each tune and decided if they would sound better with additional instrumentation. Having done the work with the orchestra, we thought it would be nice to have some string sections, so Geoff [Perry, Babik's violinist] arranged string parts for those tunes.

You guys obviously aren’t afraid to use some non-traditional instrumentation; the album features bird calls, rainstick, a whistle solo, hand claps, and a wide variety of percussion instruments. Where does that come from, and how do audiences respond to it?
The use of these sometimes wacky instruments came out of us being goofy. The crowd response was so great that we thought, “what the hell–let’s keep doing it!” So more and more often we would add things like a whistle solo, or the old Spike Jones rap in the Sheik of Araby complete with duck and deer calls. A kazoo makes it into the set sometimes along with numerous other items. We like to have fun with what we do and keep it interesting. Our audiences have come to expect our zany antics.
As for the percussion, I think that a lot of the music we like to play (latin, brazilian, african, etc.) screams to have it.
You recently performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in a symphonic presentation of Django’s music, and also present “music and movement” concerts with the Configuration Dance dance company. Not many jazz bands branch out so far afield; where does that collaborative drive come from?
Well, the drive to collaborate in those two instances really came from those particular groups asking us to. In both respects it took us out of our element a bit to work with arranged pieces and structured dances. Challenging, but rewarding. Playing with an award-winning symphony in one of the most acoustically perfect rooms on the planet for 3000 people was a tremendous joy. It was a big look into a different approach to music. We spent over a year working with arranger Brent Havens to create workable arrangements that feature the orchestral nature of Django’s masterpieces. Writing notes on a page and following a conductor are quite different from on site composition and free form jazz.
One of the most rewarding parts of this show was hearing and watching the reaction of the crowd witnessing an orchestra play swing music. The comments from the subscribers that come to watch the symphony every week were “one of the most enjoyable programs we’ve seen here in years.” The accessibility of this music to all people is astounding–its versatility and its ability to move people is incredible. Watching my pant legs shake from the sound of the brass is something I will never forget. Now that we have these arrangements we hope to bring the music of Django Reinhardt to many more Symphonies and music halls.
Babik has a wide following in the Buffalo area, and one that seems to extend far beyond the usual Gypsy Jazz fans–what is it that draws people to Babik?
We’ve had grandmas crowd surfing and punks moshing–I don’t think this music has any usual fans. It was and is the peoples’ music. The toughest critic would find it hard not to toe-tap to this kind of music. It’s infectious, accessible, and inclusive. Music for everyone who wants to smile.
The biggest thing that this group tries to do every single show, is have as much fun as possible. Not to try and rip killer solos that would make Bireli’s head spin (’cause who can really?), not to try and be some heady jazz group that demands silence, but to try and entertain ourselves and our audience. Our soloists speak very well together and trade often. The musical antics really give the audience something to latch onto. So many groups, especially in jazz, take themselves so seriously that it alienates the audience. There is a happy balance between playing for yourself and playing for your audience. The key is finding that space.
What’s next for Babik?
More orchestra shows. More touring. Jazz festivals LOVE gypsy jazz (or they should). Folk festivals, bluegrass festivals, rock and roll shows–put us in places we shouldn’t be and we’ll make fans out of people that never would’ve found this style of music on their own.

To hear clips from American Gypsy, visit the Babik music page!