Patrick Leguidecoq (known professionally as Romane; born 1959 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France) is a guitarist who specializes in

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 ...

Biography

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 people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

, 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 8 February 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: h ...

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Tchavolo Schmitt Tchavolo Schmitt (born 1954 in Paris) is a Romani jazz guitarist. Schmitt performed as a member of various ensembles in the 1970s. Then he settled in Strasbourg and left the professional circuit for a time, releasing solo albums in 2000. He play ...

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 ...

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 Sacem

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) * ''Guitar Family Connection'' (Fremeaux, 2013)

As sideman

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States. He was born into a family of Jewish musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, h ...

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

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

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (22 May 1937 – 15 December 2023) was a French actor, musician, and singer. He appeared in over 100 films in over 30 years, but was best known for his role as the fictional television private detective Nestor Burma. Life and care ...

, ''Demain J'arrete'' (Capitol Music 2002) *

, ''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