Biography
Although Django Reinhardt’s contributions often register merely as an endearing relic of the Parisian jazz scene from the 1930s and 1940s, that influence continues through musicians such as Elios Ferré. Born in Paris in 1956, three years after Reinhardt’s passing, Elios maintained a direct link to the earlier era: his father, Pierre “Matelot” Ferret (1918-1989), and his uncle, Baro Ferret (1908-1976), had both performed with Reinhardt in the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. “If you really want to play great music, music from the heart,” Elios Ferré has remarked, “you must get your inspiration from the greats, such as Django.” His older brother, Boulou Ferré (b. 1951), likewise pursued a career on guitar.
Elios took up the instrument at age six and appeared in his first concert at thirteen. Aware that he could never simply replicate Reinhardt, he later observed, “It’s better to listen to the original,” adding with a wry note, “It doesn’t mean anything to copy or imitate: You could be arrested for stealing.” Drawn instead toward flamenco, he followed the same path as his brother, receiving initial instruction from their father before continuing at the Conservatoire National de Paris. A brief fascination with Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? in 1969 did not dislodge those foundations; he maintained, “Django Reinhardt is the greatest guitarist in the world. I like all of the famous American and English guitarists, but my hero is Django, all of my life.” He also worked on composition and harmony under Pierre Lantier and cut his debut album for Barclay in 1970.
In 1978 the siblings formed a duo that would tour and issue numerous recordings across the following three decades. During a 1979 engagement in Copenhagen they encountered producer Nils Winther of the Danish label Steeplechase, resulting that same year in the album Pour Django and later projects such as Relax & Enjoy (issued under the Boulou Ferre Quartet) and Gypsy Dreams. Although both players preferred the compact Selmer acoustics their father had used in the Hot Club of France, they explored electric instruments on New York, New York. Within the duo Elios typically supplied rhythm and bass lines beneath Boulou’s lead work. Critic Mark Strutt observed, “If you’re extremely lucky and have a few bob to spare, you might catch them playing at one of the more exclusive restaurants in Paris, or to the petit bourgeoisie in the upmarket resort towns in the South of France.”
Like his brother, Elios sought an independent musical identity. “Django’s music is good but it is also dangerous,” he has stated, “because jazz is a living music and one cannot simply copy and recreate it but must step beyond it and make it new. To play jazz you must be playing your own music, your own feelings. So you must start with the history and develop it, like a torch handed on from Django to you.”
Elios took up the instrument at age six and appeared in his first concert at thirteen. Aware that he could never simply replicate Reinhardt, he later observed, “It’s better to listen to the original,” adding with a wry note, “It doesn’t mean anything to copy or imitate: You could be arrested for stealing.” Drawn instead toward flamenco, he followed the same path as his brother, receiving initial instruction from their father before continuing at the Conservatoire National de Paris. A brief fascination with Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? in 1969 did not dislodge those foundations; he maintained, “Django Reinhardt is the greatest guitarist in the world. I like all of the famous American and English guitarists, but my hero is Django, all of my life.” He also worked on composition and harmony under Pierre Lantier and cut his debut album for Barclay in 1970.
In 1978 the siblings formed a duo that would tour and issue numerous recordings across the following three decades. During a 1979 engagement in Copenhagen they encountered producer Nils Winther of the Danish label Steeplechase, resulting that same year in the album Pour Django and later projects such as Relax & Enjoy (issued under the Boulou Ferre Quartet) and Gypsy Dreams. Although both players preferred the compact Selmer acoustics their father had used in the Hot Club of France, they explored electric instruments on New York, New York. Within the duo Elios typically supplied rhythm and bass lines beneath Boulou’s lead work. Critic Mark Strutt observed, “If you’re extremely lucky and have a few bob to spare, you might catch them playing at one of the more exclusive restaurants in Paris, or to the petit bourgeoisie in the upmarket resort towns in the South of France.”
Like his brother, Elios sought an independent musical identity. “Django’s music is good but it is also dangerous,” he has stated, “because jazz is a living music and one cannot simply copy and recreate it but must step beyond it and make it new. To play jazz you must be playing your own music, your own feelings. So you must start with the history and develop it, like a torch handed on from Django to you.”
Albums
