Patrick Leguidecoq, known professionally as Romane, is a guitarist born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 1959 who specializes in

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane G ...

Life and work

Although not a gypsy by birth, Romane benefited from interactions with gypsy guitar players from an early age and especially learned from the recordings of

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

, to whom he has remained a faithful heir through the course of his career. However, this respect does not hinder him in any way and does not prevent him from composing original pieces in the gypsy jazz genre. His discography shows a desire not to remain rigidly fixed in the style but also to move forward, whether by the choice of musicians, accompanying instruments or the choice of whether or not to amplify his guitar. He has performed in a range of settings, from duo to sextet: for example, the group Django Vision or the Romane Acoustic Quartet. His partners on recordings range from

Florin Niculescu Florin Niculescu (born February 8, 1967 in Bucharest) is a Romanian violinist of Romani (Gypsy) ethnicity. Family background and education Niculescu was born into a family of educated '' lăutari''. Everybody in his family was involved in music: ...

Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...

, Tchavolo Schmitt,

Angelo Debarre Angelo Debarre ( (born on 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, t ...

and Stochelo Rosenberg. Romane also works in the educational field, having published several methods of guitar, opened a school of gypsy swing music (the Swing Romane Academy), launched a magazine (''French Guitare'') and was the first director of the Village Musiques Actuelles ATLA founded by Noëlle Tatich in 1994. His son, Richard Manetti, also pursues a career as a jazz guitarist and gypsy swing performer. They regularly perform together on national and international stages. His younger son, Pierre, is also a guitarist.

Publications

* Romane is the founder of ''French Guitare'' magazine, the first issue of which was published in March 1997. The title became ''French Guitare et Chanson'' in 2000 and ceased publication in the same year. * ''Gypsy Jazz'' with Derek Sebastian (method), Paul Beuscher - Arpèges * ''La Pompe'' with Derek Sebastian (method) * ''L’Esprit manouche'' with Derek Sebastian, Carisch France (method), 2001 * ''La Guitare jazz manouche'', ed. CEO (method in DVD)

Awards and honors

* 1997: Sidney Bechet Prize of the Academy of Jazz * 2013: Grand Prix of the Jazz, Grand Prix SacemGrand Prix du Jazz 2013
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Discography

As leader

* ''Swing for Ninine'' (Kardium, 1992) * ''Romane Quintet'' (JSL, 1994) * ''Gypsy Swing Romance'' (Koka Media, 1996) * ''Ombre'' (Imp, 1996) * ''New Quintet du Hot Club de France'' (Arco Iris 1998) * ''Samois-Sur-Seine'' (Arco Iris, 1998) * ''Impair & Valse'' (Iris Music, 1999) * ''Elegance'' with Stochelo Rosenberg (Iris Music, 2000) * ''Romane and the Frederic Manoukian Orchestra'' (Iris Music, 2001) * ''Romane Acoustic Quartet'' (Iris Music, 2002) * ''Djangovision'' (Iris Music, 2003) * ''Double Jeu'' with Stochelo Rosenberg (Iris Music, 2004) * ''Acoustic Spirit'' (Iris Music, 2004) * ''French Guitar'' (Iris Music, 2005) * ''Gypsy Guitar Masters'' with Stochelo Rosenberg (Iris Music, 2006) * ''Pere and Fils'' (Iris Music, 2007) * ''Tribulations'' with Stochelo Rosenberg (Universal/EmArcy, 2010) * ''Roots & Groove: Live at the Sunset'' (Fremeaux 2011)

As sideman

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist. He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and ...

, ''Le Diner de Cons'' (Pomme Music 1998) *

, ''For Stephane'' (Ames, 2008) *

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (born 22 May 1937) is a French actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his role as fictional private detective Nestor Burma. Selected filmography * 1962: '' The Longest Day'' as an extra (Uncredited) * 1975: ''Cousin ...

, ''Demain J'arrete'' (Capitol Music 2002) * Tchavolo Schmitt, ''Alors? ... Voila!'' (Iris Music, 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romane 1959 births French jazz guitarists French male guitarists Gypsy jazz guitarists Continental jazz guitarists Living people French male jazz musicians