Rooted in the legacy of Django Reinhardt, gypsy jazz is often called French jazz, though its reach is now fully international. Its signature lies in the dialogue between lead guitar and rhythm guitar: la pompe, a fast, percussive strum that replaces drums and drives the music forward with relentless pulse.

At the Montreux Guitar Showin May 2023, master guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg performed in a stripped-down trio with Rocky Gresset (gtr) and William Brunard (bass). Rosenberg’s playing, precise, fluid, and melodic, balanced tradition and authority, while the rhythm section locked in the groove.

Three years later, in January 2026, Italian guitarist Dario Napoli brought that same spirit to Club Chorus, joined by Benji Winterstein (gtr) and Tonino De Sensi (bass). Napoli’s style, clean, articulate, and harmonically adventurous, blends deep Django roots with a modern, melodic edge. The set took an extra turn with guest violinist Baiju Bhatt, whose lines added tension to the string-driven format. The night resonated beyond the stage: all four musicians left for France the next day to record Sicilian Blood, their upcoming album. 

Jazz manouche is no museum piece: it’s fully alive, moving fast and swinging hard.