About cam_neufeld
The
Project
A
Gypsy Odyssey
This project will involve
traveling in April 2010 to the original homeland of the Gypsies. The
Romani people, otherwise know as Gypsies, are originally from
Rajasthan, India. I will be tracing the migration route of the
gypsies from India to Paris ending with the Festival Django
Reinhardt in Samois, just south of Paris, at the end of June 2010.
Along the way I will compose a body of work inspired by the music
encountered along the way and in collaboration with the musicians I
meet.
For the past
15 years, much of my musical life has revolved around the playing of
gypsy jazz, a form of music pioneered by Django Reinhardt, a Belgian
Gypsy who spent most of his life in France and has been very
influential in the world of jazz . Recently I received as a gift, a
ravanhattha, the earliest known form of the fiddle, dating back to
3000 BC. This instrument is played primarily in Rajasthan, India.
This seem to be a logical place to start my quest to get to the heart
of Gypsy music since it is the original home of the Gypsies. Here I
will study technique and repertoire which will be an extension of my
study of violin. I will seek out local players of the
ravanhattha to study and gain understanding of the roots of this
music.
From India I will fly
to Istanbul, where there is the oldest Roma settlement in Europe , an
area called Sulukule; there are many gypsy musicians since it has
been the traditional entertainment district of Istanbul. The music
here will be a bridge between the gypsy music of India and the gypsy
jazz of France.
Since there is a large
gypsy population in Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, I will travel
overland from Istanbul through these countries to Budapest to
continue to absorb and learn from local masters of gypsy music. From
Budapest, I will travel to Paris , again studying with gypsy jazz
masters and going to the Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois which is
the original tribute festival to Django Reinhardt.
Creative renewal is an
important aspect of this trip as well and a vibrant music community
needs people with fresh ideas and new inspiration. In this way, I
feel the trip will be of benefit to the community.
My intention
is to compose a body of music which will then be recorded in a new
album. The contact with this rich musical heritage will be
invaluable to me both as a musician and composer in the sense that
exposure to the very roots of this music will allow for a much
deeper musicality and allow for compositions which can draw on a long
and essential history.
My Travel Map:
