Search - Baro Ferret :: SWING VALSES D'HIER ET D'AUJOURD'HUI

The Thelonious Monk of Parisian Gypsy Jazz

02/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pierre "Baro" Ferret was one of Django Reinhardt's favorite accompanists (recording over 80 sides) and was a guitarist of fierce and creative talent himself. The oldest of three brothers (Saranne and Matelo were superb guitarists, too), Pierre Ferret was born in 1908, in Rouen. He later moved to Paris and worked as a guitarist in the bals-musettes (dance halls), where he accompanied the great French accordionists and composed sophisticated waltzes with them. He stopped playing after WWII, opened a bar, and died in 1978.This recording was his only LP, which is regrettable since it is virtuosic and (later) modern in the extreme. Tracks: Swing Valse, Baro Bar, Reine de Musette, Chez Jacquet, La Valse a Peguri, La Minch, Ma Zaza, Reglement de Compte, La Folle, L'Inattentive, Depart de Zorro, La Jeungle.It is a fascinating and intriguing portrait, a treasure lovingly annotated by the good folks at Hot Club Records in Norway."