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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.
- FretBase
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.
- FretBase
For years, friends and fans have begged Gonzalo Bergara to record. Finally, he has a debut CD – and it’s been worth the wait.
Bergara hails from Argentina but is based in California. Both locales infuse his music; a nostalgic melancholy weaves through, a lasting impression of Buenos Aires and a rainy-day tango in the district of Palermo, perhaps. At the same time, there’s a wide-open sense of possibilities – the other side of the coin, thanks to the wonders of California.
Bergara has honed his chops as John Jorgenson’s rhythm guitarist of choice over the past several years. And Jorgenson lends clarinet to one track here. But still, Bergara’s music is all his own.
There are no covers of Django tunes, no overplayed American jazz or Gypsy jazz classics. Instead, these are all originals – and they are the better and more intriguing for that.
The album kicks off with the rollicking swing of “B-612,” displaying Bergara’s hot licks, just in case you had any doubts. With his playing established, he then moves off to explore other avenues. “Elena’s Bossa” rides a stylish Latin rhythm while “Charcos” is an introspective, bluesy ballad. Throughout, the emphasis is on musicality. His playing is virtuosic, sure. But there’s so much more.
The album ends on a sentimental note with the title track, which recalls nuevo tanguero Astor Piazzolla’s Verano Porte?o suite, an ode to the moods of Buenos Aires. Coco Trivisonno adds bandoneon along with Benedikt Brydern’s violin, and with Bergara’s Gypsy guitar leading the way, they create a glorious and lasting melody.
In all, this album is a masterpiece of a new kind of Gypsy jazz, taking Django’s work as a starting point for creating very personal music.
- Vintage Guitar Magazine
For years, friends and fans have begged Gonzalo Bergara to record. Finally, he has a debut CD – and it’s been worth the wait.
Bergara hails from Argentina but is based in California. Both locales infuse his music; a nostalgic melancholy weaves through, a lasting impression of Buenos Aires and a rainy-day tango in the district of Palermo, perhaps. At the same time, there’s a wide-open sense of possibilities – the other side of the coin, thanks to the wonders of California.
Bergara has honed his chops as John Jorgenson’s rhythm guitarist of choice over the past several years. And Jorgenson lends clarinet to one track here. But still, Bergara’s music is all his own.
There are no covers of Django tunes, no overplayed American jazz or Gypsy jazz classics. Instead, these are all originals – and they are the better and more intriguing for that.
The album kicks off with the rollicking swing of “B-612,” displaying Bergara’s hot licks, just in case you had any doubts. With his playing established, he then moves off to explore other avenues. “Elena’s Bossa” rides a stylish Latin rhythm while “Charcos” is an introspective, bluesy ballad. Throughout, the emphasis is on musicality. His playing is virtuosic, sure. But there’s so much more.
The album ends on a sentimental note with the title track, which recalls nuevo tanguero Astor Piazzolla’s Verano Porte?o suite, an ode to the moods of Buenos Aires. Coco Trivisonno adds bandoneon along with Benedikt Brydern’s violin, and with Bergara’s Gypsy guitar leading the way, they create a glorious and lasting melody.
In all, this album is a masterpiece of a new kind of Gypsy jazz, taking Django’s work as a starting point for creating very personal music.
- Vintage Guitar Magazine
Discography
Porteña Soledad
Simplicated
Walking Home
Photos
Bio
The all-acoustic Gonzalo Bergara Quartet plays a modern variant of 1930s Django Reinhardt-inspired gypsy jazz. Composer and lead guitarist Gonzalo Bergara mixes a cascade of arpeggios with the sounds of Paris and his native Argentina. His first CD, Porteña Soledad, was Editor’s Pick in Guitar Player Magazine, and Vintage Guitar Magazine called it a "masterpiece." The Gonzalo Bergara Quartet consists of Gonzalo Bergara on lead guitar, Jeffrey Radaich on rhythm guitar, Leah Zeger on violin, and Brian Netzley on upright bass. The music is heavily influenced by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France, as well as the traditional jazz and music of Bergara's true home, Buenos Aires. "Gonzalo Bergara’s music exists in a way that very little music does. He has lavished such care on every phrase, built each arrangement with such lapidary precision and pared away anything extraneous, the music becomes sculpture. It has weight, density, gravity. This is serious….and deeply moving".
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