Evolving in a musical trend shaped by the gypsy traveller tradition while respecting the rich legacy of Django Reinhardt, Drom BLANCHARD performs with his trio, and leads music lovers on the road of gypsy jazz. He comes from the purest gypsy tradition and expresses himself on wild manouche swings as much as on frenzied Romani music, Spanish rumbas or blues and jazz. He is accompanied by Nicolas SAUSA on rhythm guitar and Claudio IBARRA on doublebass. In parallel, the Trio plays with the gypsy violinist Paul GUTA to form a quartet of jazz manouche and Eastern European music.
Based in Montpellier, the band performes throughout the Languedoc-Roussillon region, but also in the rest of France and abroad. Besides concerts, musicians animate all kinds of parties, events and weddings, taking you to travel the path of jazz which at some point have been walked by gypsies...
Drom BLANCHARD
Native of the Jura (East of France), Drom started to learn the guitar very young thanks to his father who taught him the basics of jazz and gypsy music. Raised in the culture of the gypsies, he later developed his technique by ear (repeating on his guitar what he heard on the records of Django Reinhardt by himself), as well as with his friends in manouche camps. He played many years with Ritary Gaguenetti and Stéphane Neidhardt , two guitarists who taught him to improve his playing and to understand jazz harmony. His influences are varied and have been accumulated over the years by his many trips abroad, particularly in Spain, Morocco and the United Kingdom - Long journeys that have given him the opportunity to play with great musicians such as Tchavolo SCHMITT, Samson and Dorado SCHMITT, Mandino REINHARDT, Angelo DEBARRE, Romane MANETTI, Thomas DUTRONC, Hank MARVIN, Niño JOSELE, Costel NITESCU, and many more...
Thus we feel in his music the footprint of the Rosenberg Trio, and we find in his songs the soul of Paco de Lucia. He admits to being also heavily influenced by artists of soul, funk and bebop such as Paul Jackson Jr, Joe Pass, Georges Benson, Pat Martino or Mike Reinhardt.
If his guitar today remains largely imbued with the legacy of Django, it appears that many mediterranean, flamenco, blues and funk harmonies come out of his instrument... In short, a mix of influences that allows him to have now a proper and diverse style.
Nicolas SAUSA
Immersed in music at the age of 14, it is only a few years later, discovering the work of the master Django Reinhardt, that the young man coming from Bordeaux decided to devote his professional life to music. He moved to Montpellier in 2007 to study at the JAM (Regional School of Jazz), and had a chance of having the great guitarist Vittorio Silvestri as a teacher.
Nicolas then accompanied the soloist Claudio Della Corte for several years in the Hot Club de Montpellier, with whom he performed in a number of concerts and regional festivals. Later he played more rhythm guitar in two other gypsy jazz bands, accompanying Sébastien Sifferlen and Tony Petrarca in the BOG Quartet, and Marc Roger in Soleil Nomade.
In 2010 Nicolas began to work with Drom to accompany him on another path, refining his rhythmic techniques and getting closer to the influences of Nous'che Rosenberg, Hono Winterstein and gypsy tradition.
Claudio IBARRA
Self-taught musician from Chile, he is a member of La Cédille (French hip hop/Jazz band of international fame), with whom he performed more than 200 concerts around the world between 1997 and 2013. Coming from rock and funk, this bassist / doublebassist was particularly influenced by its origins of South American music, and have played in various formations in Latin directory (El Cartel, La Kuenta) interpreting salsa, Latin jazz, Cuban sound, cumbia, bolero, chachacha, Afro-Peruvian music, etc.. Naturally interested in jazz, he participated in a tour in 2003 called "Tribute to Women in Jazz" in Central Africa and incorporated jazz section of the Conservatory of Belfort to improve his skills as a doublebassist. He has practiced in various trios or quartet (Goret Jazz trio, quintet Guy Nwogang, CUB Jazz Trio) and founded in 2009 the collective Kontratak Jazz Remix with DJ Menas and Damien Groleau at the piano. In parallel, he formed in 2011 Matanzas (a group of Cuban music) and accompanied José Shungu in his soul / hip hop project “Shoop Green”.
Through his experiences and musical projects from all backgrounds, Claudio has developed over the years a very diverse playing of bass that allows him to adapt to all styles providing a solid support. By recording with Drom on the album “Sinti Fire”, he discovered the world of gypsy manouche music, and infused a "latina" touch and some rhythmic freshness widely appreciated in the style of Django Reinhardt into the album.
Paul GUTA
Romanian Gypsy violinist, Paul began to accompany his father Sylvain Guta (renowned violinist in Romania) at a very young age, and animate with his family the Montpellier evenings playing pace czardas Hungarian and Balkan tunes. Continuously developing his virtuosity and typical touch of gypsy music, he has also worked tirelessly the techniques of Stéphane Grappelli, Martin Weiss and Florin Niculescu, playing alongside many other musicians of Jazz, Flamenco, etc.. For the last 6 years Paul’s music has been brightening up the public during various shows and festivals, particularly within the Hot Club de Montpellier. In recent years, his talent has crossed regional boundaries, and the young violinist is often invited to accompany the famous Gypsy musicians such as Angelo Debarre, Tchavolo Schmitt or Yorgui Loeffler. He keeps of course his Gypsy musical identity, and his family formation (Guta Family as "Raspoutine") today knows a great success in France, Belgium and Romania.
His meeting with Drom resulted in a string quartet mixing all their influences, and in which both musicians wander between the music of Django Reinhardt and that of Ionica Minune, Bireli Lagrene and Paco de Lucia ... An explosive cocktail sometimes sentimental, but still warm and intoxicating.
