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Interview with Angelo Debarre: French Guitar Magazine #6 1998 By Fred Loiseau Translated by Alain Cola We're at the Hotel du Nord. I get out of my car, it is rainy, and I am in a bad mood. I go inside. The smoke is so thick; you can cut it with a knife. Then I hear a guitar sing: celestial phrasing, divine melodies, a touch as light as a feather. All this tests my curiosity. I get closer, swallow hard. In front of me is Angelo Debarre, playing guitar. Angelo, thirty five years old, is a Manouche. He grew up in a fascinating musical universe. His parents played all kinds of musical instruments; his grand-father was a musician. In the caravans where he lived, there was always a guitar. That's all it took. At seven, Angelo found himself with a guitar. He taught himself how to play. He memorized and played everything that he heard. He progressed quickly, facilitated by his contacts with the musicians around him, in particular his uncle Jim. Louis Fays taught Angelo some rudiments so that he could accompany his son, Raphaël, who at fifteen was already a Master in the style. Their collaboration lasted a few months and Angelo progressed further. The guitar became his passion. He quit school at fourteen and became an 'unemployed professional musician.' For a few years he hung out at the clubs of Montmartre, the Chope des Puces, anywhere where his sensitivity took him. BALALAIKAS EVERYWHERE In 1985, luck smiled upon him. He was hired to play at La Roue Fleurie, a small Parisian café managed by Serge Camps with an audience for Gypsy jazz. I mention luck because this meeting with Serge Camps was essential: Serge introduced him to the music of the Tziganes, the Russian, Rumanian and Hungarian folklore. To quote Jon Larsen, a witness of the time: 'without knowing what was in store for us, we welcomed the musicians by our applause: Angelo Debarre, Serge Camps and Frank Anastasio, on guitars, Pierre Camps, Serge's father on the acoustic bass. All that in a décor of musical instruments, photographs, posters and the large and small mementos of a long life dedicated to music, which papered the walls and the ceiling - balalaïkas even in the bathrooms! 'Jon Larsen, the head of Hot Club Records - a Norwegian label, was under the musician's spell and offered them a recording deal. Recorded as a trio, with Frank Anastasio on the acoustic bass, the album 'Gypsy Guitars' was fabulous and catapulted Angelo Debarre amongst the Masters of the style. 'Gypsy Guitars 'is a cult album for the aficionados. On that album you can find pieces of bravura in different genres: some of Django's compositions, a waltz signed by Paul Tchan Tchou Vidal (La Gitane) and another by Fapy Lafertin (Valse a Bamboula), some Hungarian songs, some traditional compositions of Rumanian folklore and some jazz standards, like 'Cherokee' or 'After You've Gone'...an ambitious program. After the Roue Fleurie closed it's doors, the neighbors complaining about the noisy applause, Angelo worked in most of the Russian restaurants in Paris, where he met the great Petro Yvanovich (Yugoslav Tzigane), Master of the balalaïka played with a pick. This technique impressed Angelo so much that he decided to work at it for some time. During these years, Angelo participated in several recordings: 'Portrait of Django' (Hot Club Records) and the album of Hot Club of Norway: 'La Roue Fleurie'. The creation of a new label, Hot Club Records/France, under Pascal de Loutchek in partnership with Jon Larsen, allowed Angelo to record a much anticipated new album. This album was released at the end of March 1998. Along with Angelo came his loyal sidemen: Doudou Cuillerier and Max Robin on guitars, Bernard Maladain on bass, Bojan Zulfikarpasic at the piano, Xavier Dessandre on percussions and Florin Nicaulescu on violin. On this album the titles were divided between Django's compositions and those of Angelo, which he conceived for piano and percussion. 'I have composed these new titles with a precise i
