Abu Dhabi sways to Gypsy jazz

Think of jazz and the thought conjures images of African American musicians, saxophones and electric guitars, or a moody blues-singing woman with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Chances are you wouldn't picture an elderly Belgian man and his band mates playing the guitar and the violin.

Theirs is a different kind of jazz, the kind born in the cabarets of 1920's Russia and Paris, and has now crossed decades and countries to land on the shores of the capital.

Francis-Alfred Moerman and his "Gypsy Jazz Trio from France" played to delighted audiences on Wednesday night at the Abu Dhabi Hiltonia Gardens.

On a tour that has taken them to Bahrain and will lead them to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the trio is taking Russian folklore, traditional gypsy jazz and Moerman's own creations on the road.

From his beginnings as a prominent gypsy jazz guitarist to developing his own style, Moerman is one of the most prolific composers in the French jazz guitarist school, with a style blending manush folklore, Arabic melodies, swing jazz and romantic ballads.

"I came to music purely by chance, because a lot of my friends were into music," says Moerman.

"But had they been painters, I would have gone into painting. I guess that's just the way it is when you are young (laughs)."

Tracing the roots

Before delving into the roots of his passion for gypsy jazz, Moerman discusses the history of the style that has spanned decades and remains popular today.

Just as jazz was the music of African American minorities in the United States, gypsy jazz became the minorities' music in Europe.

The tale begins with a certain Count Orloff, a Russian general sent on a mission to Moldavia during the Russian revolution.

There, Orloff met gypsies and spent time in their camps, where music and parties were prevalent.

So enthralled by their music was Orloff that when he returned to Russia, Orloff brought the gypsies back with him and had them live in his palace.

"From then on, everyone loved gypsy music immediately, and the whole of Moscow wanted an invitation to Orloff's palace to hear the gypsies who made a different kind of music, an exuberant and passionate music they had never heard before," explains Moerman.

The rest of Russia, both aristocrat and popular, caught on to the gypsy trend; gypsy music became the music of the streets of Russia.

With the Russian exodus around 1917, Russian lords and their gypsies fled the country to places like Berlin, Istanbul and Paris.

Many a Russian cabaret was established in Paris, the most famous being the "Shehrazade", where people would listen to gypsy orchestras playing their violins and balalaikas.

"It was in those cabarets that big gypsy jazz artists such as Django Reinhart and Sarane Ferret became famous," says Moerman. "And the turning point of my life came when I met with Sarane Ferret."

The meeting happened in a little Paris cabaret in 1960, when a musician friend asked Moerman if he'd like to meet the gypsy jazz legend.

"It was like asking a blind man if he wanted to see," recalls Moerman.

"Sarane was my idol, and when my friend introduced me to him, he introduced me as a fellow guitarist. I wanted to crawl into a mousetrap because I was so embarrassed."

"Sarane insisted I play for him, and a month later, he called asking me to go on tour to Corsica with him."

The rest, as they say, is history, and Moerman and his idol played together until Sarrane's death in 1970.

Osmosis with the audiences

Moerman remains heavily influenced by the works of Sarane Ferret, who he credits with a distinctively gypsy jazz style, whereby he made his guitar sound like a gypsy violin.

Today, Moerman is content composing his own pieces and writing lyrics to the songs he plays, and takes the style of music dear to his heart all over the world, in the hope of connecting with the audience and introducing them to a different art form.

"Reactions from the public on this tour has been great," says Moerman.

"I am in awe of how open-minded people are in this part of the world, and how they are interested in everything. We've immediately felt in osmosis with audiences, and that's wonderful."