Joseph "Jimmy" Rosenberg (born 10 April 1980) is a Dutch Sinto- Romani guitarist known for his virtuoso playing of

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

Music career

A cousin of Stochelo Rosenberg, Jimmy Rosenberg started playing guitar when he was seven years old. Two years later he led his own trio, the Gypsy Kids, which played in the

Gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

tradition and appeared on the British documentary ''Django Legacy''. The trio released its first album, ''Safari'', when Rosenberg was twelve. A year later Rosenberg released his debut solo album, ''Swinging with Jimmy Rosenberg''. To avoid a lawsuit by the

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalans, Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, Salsa music, salsa, and Pop music, pop. They perform mos ...

, the Gypsy Kids changed their name to Sinti in 1989. In 1995, the group consisted of Jimmy Rosenberg, Johnny Rosenberg, and Rinus Steinbach. They performed at the Django Reinhardt Festival in France and toured the U.S. Rosenberg pursued a solo career in 1997. In 2000 he made his debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

as part of the Django Reinhardt Festival at Birdland in New York City. He has worked with Norwegians such as

Hot Club de Norvège Hot Club de Norvège is a string jazz quartet from Norway, established in 1979, by guitarist Jon Larsen with childhood friends Per Frydenlund and Svein Aarbostad. Biography They are influenced by the music of Hot Club de France, and the French ...

Ola Kvernberg Ola Kvernberg (born 16 June 1981) is a Norwegian jazz musician known for his virtuosic string swing violin playing and his international performances. He is the son of traditional musicians Liv Rypdal Kvernberg and Torbjørn Kvernberg, and the br ...

, and Stian Carstensen. Internationally, he has worked with Romane, Jon Larsen,

Andreas Öberg Andreas Öberg (born 6 August 1978) is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and music producer. Music career Öberg was born in Stockholm on 6 August 1978. At the age of seven, he began taking classical guitar lessons at school. By He twelve, he s ...

, Bireli Lagrene,

Angelo Debarre Angelo Debarre (; born August 19, 1962) is a French Romani gypsy jazz guitarist. Biography Debarre was born in Saint-Denis, Paris, and began playing at age eight. In 1984, he formed his first group, the Angelo Debarre Quintet. In 1985, the ...

Frank Vignola Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop. Career Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and his ...

, and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

. His life is documented in the Dutch film ''The Father, the Son, and the Talent'' (Dutch: ''Jimmy Rosenberg - de vader, de zoon & het talent''; 2007), directed by Jeroen Berkvens. The film is an account of Rosenberg's relationship with his father and his struggles with drugs. It documents the high regard given to him by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and others. The documentary film ''Jon & Jimmy'', about his long but turbulent relationship with jazz guitarist Jon Larsen, was released in 2010 and won the Dutch

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

. Rosenberg returned to performing in 2007, but he dropped out again the following year. Jon Larsen said, "Jimmy Rosenberg is one of the greatest talents in the jazz guitar world, ever, and one of the greatest tragedies. ... We worked together for twelve fantastic years before his final collapses in 2004, and we were like brothers, touring for months on end and making nine studio recordings together. During those years I heard some of the most fantastic music ever played on guitar."

Discography

* ''Sinti'' (Columbia, 1996) * ''Jimmy, Bireli & Angelo'' (Hot Club, 1998) * ''Jimmy Rosenberg Acoustic Guitar'' (Hot Club, 1998) * ''Portrait of Jimmy Rosenberg'' (Hot Club, 1999) * ''Hot Club de Suede'' (Hot Club, 2003) * ''Django's Tiger'' (Hot Club, 2003) * ''Trio'' (Hot Club, 2004) * ''Rose Room'' with Stian Carstensen (Hot Club, 2005) * ''The One and Only'' with Bireli Lagrene, Angelo Debarre (Hot Club, 2006) * ''The Alternative'' with Bireli Lagrene, Angelo Debarre (Hot Club, 2013) With Hot Club de Norvege * ''Hot Club de Norvege Featuring Ola Kvernberg & Jimmy Rosenberg'' (Hot Club, 2000) * ''Parisian Honeymoon Suite'' (Refined, 2001) * ''Swinging with Vertavo, Angelo & Jimmy'' (Hot Club, 2001)

Video

* ''Jimmy Rosenberg: The Father, the Son, and the Talent'' (2006) * ''Jimmy Rosenberg Is Back'' (2007) * ''Jimmy Rosenberg at the Bimhuis'' (2008) * ''Jon and Jimmy'' (2010)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberg, Jimmy 1980 births Living people People from Helmond 21st-century Dutch guitarists 21st-century Dutch male musicians Dutch jazz guitarists Dutch male guitarists Dutch Sinti people Gypsy jazz guitarists Hot Club Records artists Dutch male jazz musicians Romani musicians