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February 15, 2007 | Mandolin at Django in June
New for this year Django in June, the first comprehensive "music camp" in the US devoted to Gypsy jazz. Django Camp will be held on the Smith College campus in beautiful Northampton, Massachusetts from Tuesday, June 12 through Sunday the 17th, 2007 with offerings for guitar, violin, mandolin, accordion and bass. Lining up a stellar staff of musicians from both coasts of the US and both sides of the Atlantic to provide an opportunity for immersion, guidance and inspiration Django in June is proud to enlist the services and expertise of Berklee Professor, John McGann for gypsy mandolin instruction.
There will still be an opportunity to just drop in for a weekend of a la carte (how about that for a little Français...) concerts and clinics as in the past; however, it's time for the chance to take both the learning and connections with other musicians to the next level.
Camp coordinator Andrew Lawrence weighs in on John McGann "the rare musician who can do a wide variety of things and do them all extremely well. A multi-instrumentalist composer, arranger, performer, recording artist, producer and educator, John works comfortably in a variety of idioms including Jazz, Bluegrass, American traditional music, and Traditional Irish dance music. He is Associate Professor in the string department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where, among other things, he teaches the Django class.
For our purposes, John will hold the mandolin chair at Django in June, including all of Django Camp. Among a multitude of other credits, he was the 1985 US National Flatpicking Champion on mandolin, hosts the mandolin forum at Djangobooks and has produced a number of instructional materials specifically for Gypsy jazz mandolin.
To my knowledge, we are still the only Gypsy jazz event in the country that is actively encouraging mandolin players to claim this tradition as their own, something that may over time prove to be a uniquely American contribution to the genre. For those players who are up for blazing that trail, we can't provide you with a better guide than John McGann."
If you're out on the east coast (even if you're not!) you should try to make plans to attend this magnificent event. This is truly new ground for Jazz Mandolin!
For more information: Django Camp Don't wait; register today!
Django in June Website
John McGann's website
Posted by Ted at February 15, 2007 9:14 PM
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