THE GUITAR

Saga's TributeTo Jazz LegendDjango Reinhardt

Gitane's flawless reproduction of classic Gypsy jazz guitarscreates a rich new market niche while introducing a newgeneration to the genre

Richard Keldsen has difficulty separating what he loves from what he does.This helps explain why his company. Saga Musical Instruments, doveheadfirst—twice—into manufacturing a highly specialized instrumentthat other major manufacturers avoided or ignored. Keldsen's fascinationwith the relatively esoteric musical style of Gypsy jazz ultimately led tohis founding the Gitane brand, which exclusively serves that genre.

Gypsy jazz was originated in 1930s Europe by legendary Belgium-born guitarist Jean"Django" Reinhardt and French violinist Stéphane Grappelli in their Ouintette du Hot

|||||tl\ Club de France. In this, the 100th anniversary of Django's birth, he is still revered by

guitarists for his virtuosity as well as the harrowing elements of his lifestory and eccentric personality. When just 18 Reinhardt sulTered "career-ending" bums that paralyzed his right leg and two fingers on his left hand.But over time he leamed to walk with a cane and developed a newapproach to playing melodies and solos with just two fingers. Despite hisRomani ethnicity, the Nazis were so enamored of his musical talents theylet him keep playing in occupied France. After several failed attempts to

Django Reinhardt,one of the mostinfluential guitaristsof all time, andGitane's DG-300,inspired by one ofthe guitars he madefamous.

//••Ï

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THE GUITAR

flee, Reinhardt encountered one Naziwho recognized him and granted himsafe passage out of the region.The guitars Django played were almost

as unique as the man. The flrst Gypsyjazz guitars were designed around 1930by classical guitarist, mandolinist, andmaster luthier Mario Maccaferri. In1932 Maccaferri helped Selmer set upits factory in France to have the instru-ments mass produced. To facilitatebending the wood for the cutaway—anindustry flrst—laminated wood wasused for the sides as well as the back.The guitar's solid top was subtlyarched, like that of a mandolin, notthrough carving but by being bent or"sprung" upward by pressure. Ladderbracing, then the norm for French andItalian guitars, was used rather than theX-bracing of Martin's ubiquitous dread-nought. The original Maccaferri instru-ments featured a large D-shaped sound-hole to accommodate an internal res-onator. When Maccaferri left the com-pany just 18 months later, Selmer aban-doned the resonator and introduced the"petite bouche" (small mouth) ovalsoundhole. (In the late '70s and early'80s Maccaferri partnered with Ibanezto produce a limited run of guitars withhis original D-hole design.) Selmer's"Modèle Jazz" guitars also featured a

longer (26-5/8") scale with 14 fretsclear of the body compared with theoriginal design's 12.Saga CEO Richard Keldsen's fascina-

tion with Gypsy jazz guitars dates backto the 1970s. Set in motion by a Guitar

Player article on the instruments by hisfriend and retail store customer PaulShelasky, Keldsen discovered that evenin "simply awful" condition '30s-eraMaccaferri and Selmer models fetchedhuge sums in the vintage instrumentmarket. Even in the '30s Gypsy jazzguitars were fairly expensive due to thecutaway's production costs and high-end features such as the world's flrstsealed oil-bath machine heads. Fortyyears later, Keldsen found modem-dayinstruments made by small-productionluthiers easily topping $4,000—andvintage instruments for ten times asmuch.

To Keldsen, this revelation representedripe opportunity in a largely unexploit-ed market niche. He reasoned that thethe genre's small but passionate andprice-restrained audience might explodeif Saga could make the instrumentsaffordable—which has always beenSaga's métier.

He was also intrigued, as both a musi-cian and a manufacturer, by the Gypsyjazz guitar's unique sound qualities.

"You can't really play the music proper-ly with a classical guitar or dread-nought," he insists. Keldsen and SagaMarketing and Artist Relations DirectorDavid Gartland explain that the instru-ment's defining laminated back andsides, ladder bracing, "floating" bridge,jazz guitar tailpiece, domed top, longscale, and special light-gauge strings(steel core wound with silk or silver-plated copper, typically played with avery heavy-gauge pick) combine to pro-duce a sound that is distinctly "crisp,punctuated, and percussive, facilitatinggreat separation between notes, withsurprising volume and projection." Thelarge D-hole instruments deliver awarmer, richer tone, though some play-ers favor the oval mouth design'sbrighter, more aggressive voice for leadwork and soloing. Partly becauseReinhardt played both types, both areprized by collectors and Gypsy jazzenthusiasts—so naturally both arc rep-resented in the Gitane product lineup.The line also includes electro-acousticmodels featuring Fishman's advancedAura Acoustic Sound Imaging system.

In the mid-'80s Saga introduced theDjango line of Gypsy jazz guitars underthe Saga brand. Early sales of the line,which was manufactured in Japan, wereencouraging, but a sudden near-dou-bling in the yen's value put the onceattractively priced instruments out ofmany players' reach. Also, Keldsenadmits, Django guitars' design wasn'tfully evolved, and the supplier was"unable or unwilling to make the neces-sary commitment to manufacture theinstruments properly." Within a year ortwo that factory closed.

In Europe the genre's embers neverdied out, and in the U.S. they wererepeatedly fanned by Hollywood. In thesame way Bonnie & Clyde andDeliverance renewed interest in banjoplaying in the '70s and three decadeslater O Brother Where Art Thou spurredthe bluegrass instrument market, aware-ness of Django Reinhardt and Gypsyjazz guitars was promoted by a numberof feature fllms including Swing Kids

(1993), Woody Allen's Sweet and

Lowdown (\999), and Chocolat (2000).Meanwhile, festivals dedicated toGypsy jazz continued in Europe andsprang up in several major U.S. cities.

82 MUSIC TRADES OCTOBER 2010

THE GUITAR

But as before, growing guitar ,community interest was sup- ,pressed by the high cost ofavailable boutique instruments.

In late 1999 Saga began offering astamped Gypsy jazz guitar tailpiecethat sold well enough to encourageKeldsen to revisit production of a fullGypsy jazz guitar line. Recognizingthat merely sending instrument draw-ings to Saga's chosen factory in Chinawould be inadequate to capture the gui-tar's design intricacies, Keldsen sentShelasky—along with his priceless1932 Maccaferri—to China todevelop a prototype. The Gitanebrand was launched in 2001with a redoubled dedication toquality construction, attention todetail, and authentic design.

Causing a sensation at the 2002Winter NAMM show. Gitanefortuitously caught the attentionof celebrated guitarist JohnJorgenson. Jorgenson wonacclaim with country rock bandsDesert Rose (in which he was

three-time Academy of Country MusicGuitarist of the Year) and theHellecasters (whose debut release wasGuitar Player magazine's 1993 Albumof the Year and Country Album of theYear). He also spent six years touringand recording with Elton John, addi-tionally performed or recorded withartists as diverse as Johnny Cash,Luciano Pavarotti, and BarbaraStreisand, and in 2008 snagged hisfirst Grammy award. But since hediscovered Reinhardt's recordings

in 1979, the type of musiche played for his ownenjoyment was Gypsyjazz.

Though Jorgensenwasn't impressed

with theJapanese-madeDjango guitars.

The Modèle

John Jorgenson

DG-330 "Tuxedo"

Gypsy jazz guitar

he immediately appreciated Saga's "sec-ond act" on several levels, dubbingGitane "the acoustic guitar for shred-ders." First, it was a well-constmcted,credibly designed instrument he couldtake on the road with him. Second, itsprice would make it accessible to manynew players, thus growing the audiencefor the music he loved to play. Already afan of Saga's Blueridge bluegrass gui-tars, Jorgenson collaborated with Sagaon a few design tweaks and was soonrewarded with the first of three JohnJorgenson signature model Gypsy jazzguitars.

Recently Jorgenson recorded Istiqbal

Gathering with a full orchestra. Notknowing which of his guitars he'd usefor the session, he recorded the samephrase with two Gitanes, his vintageSelmer and a high-end French-madeDupont. In a "blindfold test" he selectedhis Gitane DG-300. "I'm not saying it's abetter instrument than the Selmer or theDupont," he states, "but on the micro-phone, it was the right guitar for thatmusic."

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"The alliance between John and Sagareally lit a fire," says Keldsen, citing theartist's official endorsement, numerousGypsy jazz album releases, and perform-ances ranging from NAMM showappearances to jazz club and concertdates around the world. Jorgensen evenplayed Django, the man—as well as allthe guitar parts—in the 2004 feature filmHead in the Clouds. Inarguably, he hasbecome North America's foremost pro-ponent of the genre.

But to Jorgenson, promoting Gypsyjazz—and indirectly Gitane—to gui-tarists comes naturally. Recalling the dayhe first heard Reinhardt's music, he says,"I couldn't believe the tone colors andfire and emotion Django could bring outof an acoustic guitar. I was hooked. Andsince then I've seen that happen to anumber of friends; 1 call it 'getting bit.'"Some of the higher-profile players who

"got bit" by Gypsy jazz guitar includePeter Frampton, Vince Gill, the Cars'Elliot Easton, David Bowie's Earl Slick,several guitarists with the Grand OldOpry, Whitesnake's Adrian Vandenberg,

Keldsen was inspired to recre-ate the Maccaferrl Gitane gui-tar when he found that vintagemodels, even in unplayablecondition, fetched huge sums.

and Paul McCartney. (Sir Paul request-ed a left-handed model. Saga obliged.)Some, explains Gartland, wanted torecapture the sounds of their parents'Django Reinhardt records they'd hearddecades earlier. Others are simplyenthralled by Django's technical mas-tery and ability to play lines with twofingers that challenge them using all oftheirs. '"Django kicked assV saysGartland, "Leaming to play this musicchallenges and inspires guitarists. Itmakes them better blues players, betterrock players, better metal players."Among major manufacturers. Gitane

has become the dominant producer ofGypsy jazz guitars in part because itdevoted considerable human and mate-

rial resources to develop the niche. "Welike to do the things that other compa-nies don't do," says Keldsen. But hequickly adds that product afTordabilityremains key to the line's success. Tothan end, in 2007 Saga introduced itsCigano line of even lower-priced Gypsyjazz guitars aimed primarily at studentsand budget-minded musicians. BothGitane and Cigano tap into guitarists'curiosity and penchant for owning mul-tiple instruments. With the lowering ofthe price barrier, all players—from ded-icated beginners to the best guitarists inthe world—can afTord to explore thiscaptivating genre.

With a touch of bemused wonderKeldsen concludes, "I've been able tomake a business out of almost all of thethings I've ever been interested in. Asmusicians, David and 1 are passionateabout Gypsy jazz music. As a manufac-turer I'm excited by its market potentialand proud that Gitane is playing a majorrole in promoting this wonderful styleof music."www.sagamusic.com

MUSIC TRADES OCTOBER 2010

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