Bireli Lagrene's Gypsy Jazz April 17, 2007

When Bireli Lagrene first emerged in 1980 as a 13-year old who sounded exactly like Django Reinhardt, he was considered a marvel. Born (like Django) to a Gypsy family, he had been playing guitar since he was four. After a few years and several recordings, Lagrene purposely got away from the Reinhardt influence, playing high-powered rock-oriented fusion and recording with Jaco Pastorius in 1986. The guitarist has since returned to a quieter form of jazz, playing hard bop versions of standards with hints of his earlier interests in Django and fusion.