Occidental Gypsy
09-5-2014 (Ballroom)
OCCIDENTAL GYPSY play a high energy, acoustic fusion of gypsy swing, jazz & world music that is like wine and chocolate for your ears....
David Bromberg says, "Great singing, fantastic guitar and violin work, with high energy originals that left the crowd crazy. An awesome band."
Playing a dynamic, multi-genre mix of original vocal and instrumental pieces along with notable covers like a “gypsyfied” take of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, OG rouses audiences with lightning speed violin & guitar work. This riveting mélange of uptempo, high-energy gypsy swing, melded with the catchy melodic hooks of pop and and the more complex structures of jazz delivers a thrilling auditory experience.
Gypsy Jazz started out as European cafe music known as Jazz Manouche and pioneered by Gypsy Swing founders, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli. Occidental Gypsy has taken the Gypsy sound that originated in Eastern Europe and brought it here to blend seamlessly with contemporary American music. Interestingly, Gypsy Swing was created by taking American Jazz to the East and blending it with the Gypsy Folk tradition. Now almost a century later Occidental Gypsy brings the music back home.