Bireli lagrene biography

French born jazz guitarist (born 1966)

Musical artist

Biréli Lagrène (born 4 September 1966)^[1] is a French jazz guitarist who came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt–influenced style.

He often performs in swing, jazz fusion, and post-bop styles.

Biography

Lagrène was born in Soufflenheim, Alsace, France, into a Romani family and community. His father and grandfather were guitarists, and he was raised in the Gypsy guitar tradition.

He started playing at age four or five and by seven was improvising jazz in a style similar to that of Django Reinhardt, whom his father admired and wanted his sons to emulate. In 1980, while in his early teens, he recorded his first album, Routes to Django: Live at the Krokodil (Jazzpoint, 1981).^[2][3]

During the next few years, Lagrène toured with Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía, and John McLaughlin, all of them guitarists, and played with Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, and Stéphane G