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Manouche
There are many words for gypsies, most of them spoken with a snarl in much of Europe. But no city is more willing than Paris to honor the most traditional market niche for the Rom. You can see them on the metro, mining for euros with an accordion or a guitar, an amplifier on a wheelie providing a rhythm track. They're called upon to entertain at fairs and fests, and there's a vital jazz scene here that goes by the name manouche. That's a Belgian word for gypsy, as well as the nickname of that country's most famous Rom, the greatest genius of European jazz, Django Reinhardt.
Give a Parisian promoter an excuse and he'll put on a festival honoring Django, and this year--the centennial of his birth--has produced all sorts of commemorations. But only one musician practices jazz manouche as taught to him by his celebrated grandfather, and this year he's in especially great demand. Last weekend I caught David Reinhardt and his trio at a tubular boite in the club district around Châtelet. I expected to hear the propulsive fluency branded by Django and imitated by many jazz guitarists since. What I got instead was a surprise.
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