01	Les Valseuses						03:06
	02	I Got Rhythm						03:20
	03	Nuages						05:53
	04	Barbizon Blues						04:19
	05	All The Things You Are						03:37
	06	My One And Only Love						03:27
	07	The Kid						04:06
	08	Someday My Prince Will Come						05:37
	09	Minor Swing						04:15
	10	Misty						06:13
	11	Pent-Up House						03:33
	12	Tears						04:50
	13	In A Sentimental Mood						05:55
	14	Beautiful Love						06:30

Tribute to Stephane Grappelli
Date of Release Aug 8, 2000

Violinist Didier Lockwood tackled a formidable task by dedicating an entire CD to the legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli, who died just shy of his 90th birthday in December, 1997. Although Grappelli's influence on his playing is obvious at times, he is no carbon copy. He generally has a darker tone and doesn't use nearly as many up-tempo runs. With two brilliant partners, bassist Niels Pedersen (who worked with Grappelli on a few dates) and guitarist Birelli Lagrene, Lockwood does a credible job. The opener is an obscure Grappelli original, "Les Valseuses," a gentle swinger that opens with Lockwood playing pizzicato, not something one immediately associates with Grappelli. The leader contributed two originals, the easygoing "Barbizon Blues" and a light samba, "The Kid." His high-pitched opening to "Someday My Prince Will Come" is more reminiscent of Jean-Luc Ponty in the early '70s, while "Beautiful Love" features the intricate interplay of the trio. Sonny Rollins' "Pent-Up House" was a favortie of Grappelli's, and this lively bop vehicle features brilliant solos by Pedersen and Lagrene as well as the leader. Lockwood captures the spirit of Grappelli beautifully in his rendition of "My One and Only Love" while retaining his own sound. There's also material dating from the beginning of Grappelli's career that he continued to play to the end of his life. The sensual ballad "Nuages," the plucky "Minor Swing," and the somewhat dark "Tears" all come from the period of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, which he co-led with the equally brilliant guitarist Django Reinhardt. This recording will also hold up well when compared to the late violin master's own versions. Recommended. - Ken Dryden

1. Les Valseuses (Grappeli) - 3:06
2. I Got Rhythm (Gershwin/Gershwin) - 3:20
3. Nuages (Reinhardt) - 5:53
4. Barbizon Blues (Lockwood) - 4:19
5. All the Things You Are (Hammerstein/Kern) - 3:37
6. My One and Only Love (Mellin/Wood) - 3:27
7. The Kid (Lockwood) - 4:06
8. Someday My Prince Will Come (Churchill/Morey) - 5:37
9. Minor Swing (Grappelli/Reinhardt) - 4:15
10. Misty (Burke/Garner) - 6:13
11. Pent-Up House (Rollins) - 3:33
12. Tears (Grappelli/Reinhardt) - 4:50
13. In a Sentimental Mood (Ellington/Kurtz/Mills) - 5:55
14. Beautiful Love (Gillespie/King/VanAlstyne/Young) - 6:30

Bireli Lagrene - Guitar
Didier Lockwood - Violin, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Pierre Drevet - Assistant Music Director
Benoоt Sourisse - Music Direction
Jean Luc Barilla - Design

2000 CD Dreyfus 36611



Didier Lockwood
Tribute To Stephane Grappelli

"**** (Four Stars) Spectacular! Brilliantly fine-tuned jazz performed in chamber-music style by an ensemble of consumate artists. The program includes tunes often performed by Grappelli ("I got Rhythm," "In a sentimental Mood," etc.) as well as a pair of Reinhardt classics ("Nuages," and "Minor Swing"), and there's not a single misstep anywhere. An album to savor."
Click here to read more reviews of Tribute To Stephane Grappelli LA Times by Don Heckman (7/9/00)




DREYFUS JAZZ SPOTLIGHTS SUPERB TRIO ARTISTRY ON TWO NEW SWINGING RECORDINGS--TRIBUTE TO STEPHANE GRAPPELLI FROM VIOLINIST DIDIER LOCKWOOD AND SUD, THE SELF-TITLED CD FROM THE GROUP FEATURING GUITARIST SYLVAIN LUC

Building on the foundation of "le jazz hot" engendered by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli more than six decades ago, new trio recordings from masterful violinist Didier Lockwood and Sud, a group fronted by guitar star Sylvain Luc, illustrate how musicians continue to contemporize swing rhythms while exploring the boundaries of improvisation. Lockwood's Tribute to Stephane Grappelli makes this connection explicit, as he leads fellow virtuosos Bireli Lagrene and Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen through a program that both celebrates the immense achievements of the pioneering violinist and exhibits the on-going evolution of jazz. Similarly, Sud, fueled by Luc's astonishing guitar work, also tips a hat toward an innovative genius and at the same time displays how gifted instrumentalists springboard from time-honored musical traditions.

Tribute to Stephane Grappelli, said Didier Lockwood, is his attempt at preserving the collective memory of the legendary musician--a way to pay Grappelli homage "and to affirm my personal affection and admiration for him." Long considered to be one of the foremost practitioners of jazz violin, Grappelli is best known for his landmark recordings during the 1930s and 1940s with gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, a pairing that helped redefine the small combo's relationship to swinging jazz. On Tribute, Lockwood enlists Lagrene, perhaps the greatest of the Reinhardt-influenced guitarists alive today, and bassist Pedersen, the eminent bop specialist and sideman for greats such as Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Bill Evans. Together Lockwood et al grace the 14-track program of standards like "Nuages," "All the Things You Are" and "My One and Only Love" with the sort of insouciant brilliance that Grappelli especially revelled in. Lockwood shines from the very first notes he plucks on the album's opener, "Les Valseuses," and showcases his awesome technical proficiencies throughout, eliciting sonic wonders from his entire instrument.

One of the top violinists of his generation, Didier Lockwood made his recording debut in 1979 with his trusty cohort Niels Pedersen and drummer Tony Williams before moving on to more fusion-oriented projects in the early 1980s. Joined on his 1996 recording Storyboard, also on the Dreyfus Jazz label, by saxman Steve Wilson and organ maestro Joey De Francesco, Lockwood has since cemented his stature as Grappelli's heir in terms of the the fluid inventiveness of his playing and the maturity of his tone.

Named for the trio's southern (read: tropical) musical inclinations, Sud sparkles with vibrant and exciting fretwork courtesy of guitarist Sylvain Luc, the Bayonne, France native who pilots a trio with bassist Jean-Marc Jafet and drummer Andre Ceccarelli on rhythmic journey, borrowing and shifting beats from around the world while proving the love of swing is indeed a universal phenomenon. Evoking, of course, Reinhardt's deep legacy, Luc brings an incredible sense of fun and creativity to this music, finding and flexing the dynamics of the CD's 13 songs, which are a mixture of timeless classics (including "A Night in Tunisia" and "There Will Never Be Another You") and charming originals.

A child prodigy who was raised in a family of traditional Basque musicians, Sylvain Luc first made a name for himself with his ground-breaking group The Bubble Quintet and as an arranger for Marie-Angel Damestoy. In the late 1980s he began to infuse his music with South American flavors and eventually focused just on jazz, accompanying countless European jazz musicians and even superstar vocalist Al Jarreau on tour and in the studio. Last year, in fact, he teamed up with Bireli Lagrene on Duet, also a Dreyfus Jazz release.

Two inimitable spirits--Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt--and two discs of homage from artists who underscore the value of respecting musical forbears while pursuing their own distinct and personalized creative directions.





Didier Lockwood was born on February 11, 1956, in Calais, France. Lockwood studied classical violin at the Conservatoire de Musique de Paris, but exposure to the blues of Johnny Winter and John Mayall persuaded him to cut short formal study in 1972 and form a jazz-rock group with his brother, Francis.

A three-year stint with Magma followed, but Lockwood was more excited by the improvising of Jean-Luc Ponty, whom he heard on Frank Zappa's 'King Kong'. He listened to other jazz violinists, particularly the Pole, Zbigniew Seifert and the veteran Stephane Grappelli. The latter quickly realised the talent in Lockwood and played with him whenever possible.

During the late 70s Lockwood played and recorded with many major European and American artists including Tony Williams, Gordon Beck, John Etheridge, Daniel Humair and Michal Urbaniak.

In 1981, Lockwood recorded Fusion, which typified the approach he has followed throughout the 80s - a solid rock-based rhythm with plenty of soloing room for his lightning improvisations on the 160-year-old violin he plays.