On the recommendation of a good friend, I headed into Mill Valley for Djangofest last night.  The artist that was suggested to me was Stochelo Rosenberg – the famous gipsy Jazz guitar player that I was inclined to like just because he’s named Rosenberg.  And he was good.  Actually, he was great.  But it was the opening act – the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet – that really knocked my socks off.

First, a note about Djangofest.  It takes place every year in Mill Valley, California and for four nights soloists and bands come to play tribute to Django Reinhardt – generally considered the greatest gipsy Jazz guitar player of all-time.  The show is really a treat.  Not only does it take place in Mill Valley (one of the most wonderful towns in the world), but the musicians are excellent.  And people really come out for this one.  The house was packed last night.  Read on for more about The Gonzalo Bergara Quartet.

The group is all acoustic and has four musicians (did anything in their name give it away?) – Jeffrey Radaich on Rhythm Guitar, Rob Hardt on Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone and Brian Netzley on Upright Bass and of course, Gonzalo Bergara on lead acoustic guitar.  The group has two factors that catapault them into another dimention.  First of all, the group is tight.  Each member of the group fits in with the band perfectly.  I usually don’t like a lot of wind instruments with my guitars but Rob Hardt was wonderful whether he was playing clarinet or sax.  Netzley kept things moving with a steady and pumping bass-line and Radaich played a steady rhythm guitar that held its own.

But what really makes this band shine is Gonzalo Bergara.  This Argentinian plays like he has had a guitar in his hand from birth.  His fingers just fly across the fretboard and the music wraps itself around you and catapaults you.  Yes, he plays very much in the style of Django but his own compositions also have a latin flavor from his own Argentina.  That flavor gives the songs a kick.  The band’s one-hour and twenty minute set last night brought the house to its feet for a standing ovation – blown away by what it had seen.  I wouldn’t say that Bergara is better than Django.  He’s different.  But the difference adds something new to the gipsy Jazz genre.  It’s gipsy jazz but with a new flavor.  When the set was over I tuned to my wife and told her (still amazed), “That was some of the best musicianship I have ever seen.”  I don’t think Stochelo Rosenberg has ever had a run for his money like he did last night.

Gonzalo Bergara Quartet.  You heard it here first.

Gonzalo Bergara Quartet on MySpace

Portena Soledad by Gonzalo Bergara Quartet (Amazon)