:: London/France June 28 - July 5, 2002 :: Several firsts: first time in France, first time attending a Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival, first time camping in a tent. Oh yeah, and meeting amazing, generous people and playing with fantastic musicians!! London & Whitstable, UK Samois-sur-Seine (1) Samois-sur-Seine (2) Paris I'm in a tent! I'm in France! My motion sickness tablets are finally wearing off and I'm no longer a zombie! So, we settled in that first afternoon, bought some food supplies (bread, cheese, beer, etc,...you know, your basic food groups), and let the jam sessions commence that evening. Photo courtesy of Menno van der Reijden. ...and in the morning, before I'd even wiped the sleep out of my eyes or put on a bra, I was in another jam session, this one (eye sleep and bra both taken care of at this point) with some fellows from Germany, Italy, and Holland. "Riverfront" property at the campsite. Sweet little Aisha, definitely one of the younger campers, was a lot of fun, and a budding violinist to boot! Went into nearby Fontainebleau to buy some stamps. I spoke in my rusty French until the teller helped me out with some of her English. I fared better in the grocery store where I was able to speak French the whole time. "Where are the baguettes? What cheese goes best with this bread?" I never met these folks, but I believe they're German, had studied American Indian culture and built their teepee from scratch, even chopping down the branches they needed. Friday, I'd just found a seat and I hear the first American accents I've heard since I'd left the U.S., and who is one of them but Neil Andersson of Pearl Django! That was way cool :) Welcome to the Festival de Jazz Django Reinhardt! Now playing, "De Piotto's". The Joscho Stephan Trio, just amazing! Joscho is on the right, and his father (center) plays rhythm guitar. Friday night's last festival act, Romane and Frederic Manoukian (Romane on the right). He featured several guest performers, including David Reinhardt (on the left), the grandson of Django, and David's friend Richard (center). After the festival performances, there were jam sessions on the festival grounds. Photographed here are, in the back, (L to R) violinists Zadie, me, James McGee, and in the front (the giant head) is Ed Cotton, my bandmate from Pretty Boy Freud. A call home to the U.S. A campsite jam. Caspar of Denmark on saxophone. Hartmut (bearded) and David on violins. Pearl Django, the first American band ever to play this festival. Patrick Saussois with Alma Sinti...wonderful! A pensive moment captured during a jam. Photo courtesy of Menno A photo, courtesy of Hinrich Wulff, from the Saturday night jam session. L to R: Archtop Eddie of Chicago, Robert (?) from Canada, Ed Cotton, unidentified young lad, me, and Pat Ciliberto of L.A. Saturday night I made a friend of Albert Reinhardt, whom I like to refer to as the "godfather" of the gypsies. Although my French was completely inadequate and I didn't know the more obscure tunes he wanted me to play, we still had a great time. The greatest honor: wearing his hat. This darling gal, Stéphanie, was my personal angel Saturday night. She brought me food and drink, wielded the camera, and was translator extraordinaire. She is a beautiful person, full of life, and loves the gypsy manouche culture. Les Deux Dominiques: one is a 3-D film maker, and the other is a former professor (I think) who drove Ed and I all around Paris in his taxi our last night there. They are great guys. They introduced me to a phrase that apparently flows a little better in French: It is like a tiny Jesus in velvet pants. (C'est comme le petit Jesus en culottes de velour.)It means that something is really good, tasty, etc. We had a fun jam Saturday night at the festival site. Hiro (closest to camera) blew everybody away, plus he's a sweet guy. He's actually well-known in bluegrass circles and as a banjo player as well. Saturday night was especially cold, so I stayed in Ed's hotel that night. In the morning, we tried to get me back to the campsite for the informal campers concert that I was invited to participate in...but we got lost. It seemed like a good idea to just go with Ed to the town of Pellier, where we ended up having an amazing afternoon with Aurore and her family. [next page :: Samois-sur-Seine (2)] London & Whitstable, UK Samois-sur-Seine (1) Samois-sur-Seine (2) Paris