The Belgian Tourist Office Celebrates 100 Years Of Django Reinhardt

[Newsroom]

The Belgian Tourist Office-Brussels and Wallonia is sponsoring London’s first International Gypsy Swing Guitar Festival, a nine-day celebration of concerts and workshops by some of the finest Gypsy Jazz musicians in Europe.

The festival takes place at Le QuecumBar & Brasserie in Battersea from Sunday 17 to Monday 25 January 2010 to commemorate the centenary on 23rd January 2010 of the birth of Gypsy jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt, who was born in Southern Belgium in the town of Liberchies.

Appearing at the festival will be one of Belgium’s most talented gypsy jazz violinists, Tcha Limberger, who will be performing on Tuesday 19 January along with his Balkan Trio in a powerful rendition of authentic world Gypsy music, with instrumentals and haunting vocals evoking the magical atmosphere of a Gypsy campfire.

Born into a family of manouche musicians, Tcha Limberger began performing on clarinet, before changing to the guitar. He then took up the violin at the age of seventeen, inspired by stories of his grandfather, legendary violinist Piotto Limberger, and by recordings from Hungarian Toki Horvat. He later studied classical and Gypsy music under Horvat Bela in Budapest.

Now living in Transylvania, he has worked closely with many Gypsy legends, including Fapy Lafertin and Angelo DeBarre, and set up a number of orchestras. He has also made many recordings as a freelance instrumentalist.

His Balkan trio includes himself on violin, guitar and vocals, his famous father Vivi Limberger on guitar and vocals, and the Hungarian Vilmos Csikos on bass.

Le QuecumBar & Brasserie specialises in live concerts promoting Django Reinhardt, Gypsy Swing, and those who perform it. Seating just 70 people, with an ambiance, style and décor evocative of the time, it conveys the authentic flavour of this music as it was performed in its heyday.

Tcha Limberger will also be holding a workshop on Balkan Gypsy violin at Le QuecumBar on 19 January.