Montreal’s Denis Chang begins his new album Deeper Than You Think with a bit of humor: “Allons-y mes amis,” intones an announcer, before adding “let’s rock this studio–oh yeah!“  Chang and company then surprise by kicking off the album with a musical Jimi Hendrix quote before launching into a fiery Flèche d’Or whose creamy, overdriven tones signal that this is a modern day jazz manouche.

With violinist Carmen Piculeata, bassist Paul Vandyk, and rhythm guitarist Romain Vuillemin joining Chang, the quartet is a tight, grooving unit–Chang, well-known for his own series of popular instructional DVDs, calls Vuillemin “one of the best [rhythm guitarists] in the world,” and it’s hard to argue with that, so essential is Vuillemin’s underpinning.  Though Chang and Piculeata could certainly carry the album themselves, the leader’s inclusive spirit seems to demand collaboration.  To that end, the quartet is joined on six of the fourteen tracks by an assortment of musicians, bringing piano and Rhodes organ into the mix alongside strings, percussion, and the vocals of Cyrille-Aimée Daudel on the unexpected Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.

That track isn’t one you’d hear on most new releases in the genre, but it’s one that speaks to both Chang’s sense of musical openness and his ability to breathe new life into tunes that might be considered an odd fit for a “Gypsy Jazz” album.  (A quick search on YouTube will find Chang doing something similar with his version of the Michael Jackson hit You Are Not Alone.)  It’s got a crossover appeal that will certainly leave many purists agape, but Chang has earned the right to push the boundaries.

As if to quell any doubt about his bona-fides, Chang follows with Latcheben, a fast, virtuosic waltz that calls to mind the Dutch gypsy camps where he studied with some of the genre’s biggest names.  The other tunes on the album are not so much standards–there is no Bossa Dorado, no I’ll See You in My Dreams, none of the pieces you might hear a dozen times a day at one of the Django festivals Chang plays every year–as they are a sampling of tunes you might hear headliners play together late into the night, after the noise of the day has died down.  Paquito, Les fenêtres de Moscou, Ballade Irlandaise: Often unhurried but always harmonically rich, they give the musicians room to stretch, to listen to and learn about each other.  When that happens, the best thing you can do is sit back and listen.

I have been hosting a copy of Virtual Gyspy Jazz for 7 years now. Can you believe that much time has passed?
For the record, HotClub.Co.Uk is hosting the version 2 of the Virtual Gypsy Jazz project.

Les Paul, the jazz guitarist, died on August 13 aged 94.

Known as “the Thomas Edison of the music industry” and as “The Wizard of Waukesha”, Les Paul is known for pioneering multi-track recording, whereby instruments in a band or orchestra are recorded through separate, independently adjustable channels, as well as overdubbing, in which additional sound or music can be added after the original recording is made. He also pioneered the solid body electric guitar.

There are 3 photos of Django and Les Paul together ( can be found at Patrus 53 ) and here is one of them.

Django gave Les Paul one of his used guitars.  Here is a photo from the movie “Les Paul – Chasing Sound”.

We’ll miss Les Paul.