Gipsy Jazz Concert December 13, 2008

The Alliance Franaise of Hyderabad, Seagrams 100 pipers and the secunderabad club with the support of the French Embassy in India present - Le Petit Orchestre Swing De France : A Gipsy Jazz Concert.

Laurent ZELLER (violon).
Laurent started learning to play the violin at the age of 4 and moved on later to the guitar and jazz music, which lead him on the inevitable journey in the Strasbourg Radhaus towards swing guitarists Bireli Lagrne and Tchavolo Schmitt. in 1995, armed with awards in classical violin, he played with the Mdicis quatuor with Georgian musicians Nina and Otari Melikivhvili, who gave him his first introduction to Tzigane music.
He is also one of the founders of the group Les Pommes De Ma Douche, (25,000 albums sold) where he plays jazz violin along with the guitarist Raphal Fays...

Gilles PARODI (rythmic guitar).
Gilles started his musical career with classical studies in the Tours Conservatory, and then jazz with guitarist Pierre Cullaz, world music with saxophonist Talib Kadir Kibble, and Bresilian percussions with Dominique Suard. He also teaches electric and bass guitar. His role as accompanist gave him the opportunity to meet different artists and groups such as Jean Franois Morange, Alan Jack, Patrick Verbeck, Grard Blanchard, Francis Alfred Moerman, Patrick Saussois, Stphane Grappelli, the Trio Jazz Tzigane, the Quartet Swing Musette, the Ligue d'impro Thatrale de Touraine, Les Pommes de ma Douche...

Laurent BAJATA (solo guitar).
Laurent started off as a drummer at the age of 13 in his accordionist brothers stage band. He started studying the guitar in 1965 and discovered the music of Django at the same time. Ever since, even though he likes other kinds of music (bi-bop, South American...), Laurent stayed on with his first love and has directed several manouche jazz ensembles - the "Swing Roul'hot" in Lyon towards the end of the sixties, then the "Swing de Paris", with whom he toured Japan and Canada.
For many years he also partnered several manouche jazz tenors such as (Patrick Saussois, Romane, etc with whom he recorded 15 albums including one at Nashville, U.S.A.

The Petit Orchestre Swing de France infuses a fresh breath of life into old French chansons. Right from the first choruses and accords, we come under the spell of the beautiful singing Swing music played by this trio. A music that works into our memory while the words remain floating in our minds. Old tunes reworked to new sensibilities, songs that our mothers and sometimes even grandmothers hummed all day, melodies that have been revived without losing their original charm.

"Le Petit Orchestre Swing De France", the Small Swing Orchestra of France, have given themselves a mighty task by attempting to interpret these French chansons from the post-war era. Today we can easily sing them along set as they are to a new dynamic and swinging pace. A daring enterprise indeed for this fun loving trio who have managed to retain the poetry, energy and emotion of every song they sing.