Presse Qatar 2006

QATAR Daily Newpaper

French jazz musicians enthral audience

Published: Saturday, 11 November, 2006, 11:50 AM Doha Time

The musicians perform at the programme By Fran Gillespie

HALF-CLOSE your eyes, and you could almost imagine you were seated under a starry sky in the south of France. The elegant sea-front terrace of the Diplomatic Club was the venue on Thursday evening for around 200 guests, who came to dine and listen to the music of Le Petit Orchestre Swing de France, a trio of visiting musicians who play in the tradition of the great gypsy musician Django Reinhardt and the co-founder of his famous all-string jazz band, Stephane Grappelli. The weather was perfect for al fresco dining, with the calmest of breezes barely swaying the branches of the palm trees.A distant string of lights was twinkling and reflecting in the calm waters of the bay, and only the forest of towering cranes fringing the vast Pearl-Qatar development gave a hint that this was still a paradise in the making.Guitarists Alain Wilsch and Gilles Parodi, both of mature years and teachers of music at home in France, and the slightly younger and perpetually smiling violinist Laurent Zeller, held the audience entertained with an eclectic selection of musical melodies. Despite their claim that they represented the 'tradition' of French jazz music, they began with such familiar American classics as Lady Be Good and Dancing Cheek to Cheek, before launching into a wider range of melodies including a number of Reinhardt and Grappelli classics. Masters of their art, their relaxed and cheerful approach to their music won the hearts of the audience.

The concert was organised by the "Le Centre Culturel Francais"