DjangoFest NW returns to Langley

Published 6:35 pm Wednesday, September 15, 2010

They’ll be djammin’ on Whidbey Island for five days of Django-Fest NW, the gypsy jazz music extravaganza where fans worship at the altar of the guitar.

This year marks the 10th for DjangoFest and the lineup remains filled with some of the top entertainers in this musical genre, said Jason Dittmer, director of marketing for Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.

Gypsy jazz became popular in large part because of guitarist Django Reinhardt, who ranked as one of the top players working in Paris in the late 1920s and ’30s, Dittmer said.

In gypsy jazz, guitar and violin are the main solo instruments, though some groups incorporate the clarinet and accordion. The rhythm guitar is played using a distinct percussive technique, which essentially replaces the drums, Dittmer said.

This year’s lineup features the Angelo Debarre Quartet with Ludovic Beier, Paulus Schafer with Tim Kliphuis, the Gonzalo Bargara Quartet and the John Jorgenson Quintet. At least a dozen more groups will perform.

DjangoFest NW has performances at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. Sunday starting Sept. 22 and running through Sept. 26 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, 565 Camano Ave., Langley.

Tickets are $24 to $60. For tickets and a complete festival schedule, call 800-638-7631or go to www.WICAonline.com.

Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.