Biréli Lagrène in Geneva

Biréli Lagrène is a French guitarist born in 1966 in Soufflenheim, Alsace. He first became known for the Django Reinhardt repertoire heard on the early album Routes to Django, then extended his work into jazz fusion and post-bop. His recordings also include Gipsy Project and D-Stringz, made with Stanley Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty. As a teenager, he performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. His electric work in the 1980s led to concerts with bassist Jaco Pastorius, including the Stuttgart performance released as Stuttgart Aria. The concert album Live in Marciac followed in the 1990s, before he returned to Django-centered acoustic swing with the Gipsy Project.