SYMPHONY SPACE PRESENTS STEPHANE WREMBEL'S DJANGO Á GOGO, A CONCERT CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF DJANGO REINHARDT, MAY 9
Evening Features Two Sets of Music: One Focused on Reinhardt’s Guitar Style, with Guitarists from the U.S., the Netherlands, and France, Including Django’s Great-Grandson Simba Baumgartner; and One Blending the Sounds of “Gypsy Jazz” and New Orleans Jazz
Concert Is the Latest Chapter in Symphony Space’s Longtime Collaboration with Wrembel, and Anchors His Week-Long Django á Gogo Music Festival, Perhaps the Foremost Annual Django Reinhardt Event in the U.S.
Symphony Space, the New York City cultural institution producing events that happen one-night-only and only at Symphony Space, builds upon its close relationship with guitarist, composer, and musical director Stephane Wrembel when it presents Django á Gogo, a momentous celebration of Django Reinhardt, May 9 at 8pm. The performance, featuring Wrembel’s quartet, and a rich lineup of fellow “Gypsy jazz” luminaries, is the marquee event of the 2025 Django á Gogo Music Festival.
Considered one of the preeminent guitarists specializing in the Reinhardt style, Wrembel’s music incorporates jazz, blues, classical, swing, flamenco and rock. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most creative improviser in Gypsy jazz today.” He is a longtime favorite of Symphony Space audiences, having graced its stages numerous times, including in its Revelry concert series, with wide-ranging collaborators. Django á Gogo epitomizes Symphony Space’s commitment to providing a creative home for its ever-expanding, multidisciplinary array of artists to develop new work and welcome their own communities.
The Django á Gogo concert at Symphony Space consists of two sets. The first features the Stephane Wrembel Band, with Josh Kaye on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums; and special guests including Dutch guitarist Mozes Rosenberg; French guitarists Antoine Boyer, David Gastine, and Simba Baumgartner (Django’s great-grandson); and French harmonica player Yeore Kim.
The second set is “Django New Orleans,” blending the sounds of New Orleans brass and percussion with the enchanting “Jazz Manouche” guitar style. From swing to second lines, this ensemble offers a truly alchemical night of music, with Wrembel and Josh Kaye on guitar, Adrien Chevalier on violin, Steven Duffy on tuba, David Langlois on percussion and washboard, Nick Driscoll on tenor sax and clarinet, Joe Boga on trumpet, Scott Kettner on drums, Sarah King on vocals, and special guests.
The concert will conclude with all the musicians on the stage, performing for a rousing rendition of the Reinhardt classic “Les yeux noirs (Dark Eyes).”
Advance CDs of Wrembel’s new album, Django New Orleans II: Hors Série, will be available at the Symphony Space concert.
Wrembel was born in Paris and raised in Fontainebleau, the home of Impressionism and Django Reinhardt. He studied classical piano as a child, but in his mid-teens, he discovered an affinity for the guitar, “and then I found Django," he says.
Reinhardt's style, which might be appropriately called Sinti-style guitar, is rooted in the music of his people, the Sinti Gypsies (Roma) from Central Europe. What is commonly called “Gypsy jazz” emerged in Paris in the 1930s as a blend of traditional 19th-century French musette, American jazz, and Reinhardt's defining sense of swing. Not a Sinti himself, Wrembel immersed himself in their culture, spending several years going to the camps, “and playing for Sinti weddings and parties, playing with friends. There, I started learning the atmosphere of what it means to play Sinti-style guitar. I learned it from the masters, guitarists like Angelo Debarre and Serge Krief, and from playing at the campsites. That's how you learn this music. This music is specific to a culture, and without the culture, something is missing.” Wrembel has since recorded more than 20 albums, had his compositions featured in films, and developed a substantial career as an educator.
Since its inception in 2003, the Django á Gogo Music Festival has united some of the world's most exceptional musicians to honor the timeless essence of Sinti guitar style. The festival (May 6-11) showcases the vibrant, ongoing evolution of Reinhardt's repertoire through reinterpretation, improvisation, and cross-cultural collaborations. The Symphony Space concert is the centerpiece of the 2025 Django á Gogo, which also includes a music camp and other programming in Maplewood, New Jersey, where Wrembel lives. For more information about the festival, please visitdjangoagogo.com.
Symphony Space's fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through their programs and their commitment to literacy and education through the arts. Known for an array of ground-breaking programs, including Selected Shorts, their immersive Wall to Wall concerts, and their innovative Global Arts education initiative, Symphony Space presents a full slate of original, affordable (and free) programming within New York City and in communities throughout the country through tours, public radio broadcasts, podcasts, and virtual events. On their stages and in the classrooms they serve, Symphony Space fosters access to the arts through all the disciplines.
Symphony Space was founded in the belief that the arts bring people together, transcend barriers, and celebrate both our similarities and differences. Through everything that they do, Symphony Space continues to invigorate these guiding principles, harnessing the power of the arts to engage, inspire, and build community.
Evening Features Two Sets of Music: One Focused on Reinhardt’s Guitar Style, with Guitarists from the U.S., the Netherlands, and France, Including Django’s Great-Grandson Simba Baumgartner; and One Blending the Sounds of “Gypsy Jazz” and New Orleans Jazz
Concert Is the Latest Chapter in Symphony Space’s Longtime Collaboration with Wrembel, and Anchors His Week-Long Django á Gogo Music Festival, Perhaps the Foremost Annual Django Reinhardt Event in the U.S.
Symphony Space, the New York City cultural institution producing events that happen one-night-only and only at Symphony Space, builds upon its close relationship with guitarist, composer, and musical director Stephane Wrembel when it presents Django á Gogo, a momentous celebration of Django Reinhardt, May 9 at 8pm. The performance, featuring Wrembel’s quartet, and a rich lineup of fellow “Gypsy jazz” luminaries, is the marquee event of the 2025 Django á Gogo Music Festival.
Considered one of the preeminent guitarists specializing in the Reinhardt style, Wrembel’s music incorporates jazz, blues, classical, swing, flamenco and rock. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most creative improviser in Gypsy jazz today.” He is a longtime favorite of Symphony Space audiences, having graced its stages numerous times, including in its Revelry concert series, with wide-ranging collaborators. Django á Gogo epitomizes Symphony Space’s commitment to providing a creative home for its ever-expanding, multidisciplinary array of artists to develop new work and welcome their own communities.
The Django á Gogo concert at Symphony Space consists of two sets. The first features the Stephane Wrembel Band, with Josh Kaye on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums; and special guests including Dutch guitarist Mozes Rosenberg; French guitarists Antoine Boyer, David Gastine, and Simba Baumgartner (Django’s great-grandson); and French harmonica player Yeore Kim.
The second set is “Django New Orleans,” blending the sounds of New Orleans brass and percussion with the enchanting “Jazz Manouche” guitar style. From swing to second lines, this ensemble offers a truly alchemical night of music, with Wrembel and Josh Kaye on guitar, Adrien Chevalier on violin, Steven Duffy on tuba, David Langlois on percussion and washboard, Nick Driscoll on tenor sax and clarinet, Joe Boga on trumpet, Scott Kettner on drums, Sarah King on vocals, and special guests.
The concert will conclude with all the musicians on the stage, performing for a rousing rendition of the Reinhardt classic “Les yeux noirs (Dark Eyes).”
Advance CDs of Wrembel’s new album, Django New Orleans II: Hors Série, will be available at the Symphony Space concert.
Wrembel was born in Paris and raised in Fontainebleau, the home of Impressionism and Django Reinhardt. He studied classical piano as a child, but in his mid-teens, he discovered an affinity for the guitar, “and then I found Django," he says.
Reinhardt's style, which might be appropriately called Sinti-style guitar, is rooted in the music of his people, the Sinti Gypsies (Roma) from Central Europe. What is commonly called “Gypsy jazz” emerged in Paris in the 1930s as a blend of traditional 19th-century French musette, American jazz, and Reinhardt's defining sense of swing. Not a Sinti himself, Wrembel immersed himself in their culture, spending several years going to the camps, “and playing for Sinti weddings and parties, playing with friends. There, I started learning the atmosphere of what it means to play Sinti-style guitar. I learned it from the masters, guitarists like Angelo Debarre and Serge Krief, and from playing at the campsites. That's how you learn this music. This music is specific to a culture, and without the culture, something is missing.” Wrembel has since recorded more than 20 albums, had his compositions featured in films, and developed a substantial career as an educator.
Since its inception in 2003, the Django á Gogo Music Festival has united some of the world's most exceptional musicians to honor the timeless essence of Sinti guitar style. The festival (May 6-11) showcases the vibrant, ongoing evolution of Reinhardt's repertoire through reinterpretation, improvisation, and cross-cultural collaborations. The Symphony Space concert is the centerpiece of the 2025 Django á Gogo, which also includes a music camp and other programming in Maplewood, New Jersey, where Wrembel lives. For more information about the festival, please visitdjangoagogo.com.
About Symphony Space
Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts center where adventurous programming, presented in a uniquely warm and welcoming environment, forges indelible relationships between artists and audiences.Symphony Space's fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through their programs and their commitment to literacy and education through the arts. Known for an array of ground-breaking programs, including Selected Shorts, their immersive Wall to Wall concerts, and their innovative Global Arts education initiative, Symphony Space presents a full slate of original, affordable (and free) programming within New York City and in communities throughout the country through tours, public radio broadcasts, podcasts, and virtual events. On their stages and in the classrooms they serve, Symphony Space fosters access to the arts through all the disciplines.
Symphony Space was founded in the belief that the arts bring people together, transcend barriers, and celebrate both our similarities and differences. Through everything that they do, Symphony Space continues to invigorate these guiding principles, harnessing the power of the arts to engage, inspire, and build community.
