Gypsy Accordion Swing

August 11, 2005
Blue Drag, Ikebukuro

Jean-Claude Laudat--accordion
Jean-Yves Dubantan--guitar
Thierry Colson--bass
Toshiyuki Tanaka—clarinet, accordion
Plus the Gypsy Swing Gang
Kiyoshi Kobayashi—guitar, ukelele
Nao Kobayashi—guitar
Masayoshi Tomioka --guitar
Yuji Nagayama—bass

Blue Drag was standing room only for this special evening of accordion swing from Paris. The Gypsy Swing Gang started the evening swinging with a full set of Django tunes and originals, featuring Kobayashi's impeccable guitar and ukelele work, Tomioka's right-on playing and Kobayashi the younger (at an unbelievable 18 years of age—I asked to see his high school student card to be sure!) jamming with Nagayama's rock-solid bass. When a special delivery letter arrived in the middle of a song, the club was too packed to let anyone in, and the customer sitting closest to the door had to sign for it and pass it along to the master back behind the bar.

When Laudat, Dubantan and Colson entered the club, everyone sat up in their seats, not just to let them in, but in ready for Paris-style swing to begin. The three Parisians sat in the back, warming up with a couple whiskeys, while Kobayashi and company played. Then, after a short break, they took the stage. The three took a song to get going though. Perhaps the whiskeys were not quite enough to overcome the culture shock of having to twist sideways to get to and from the stage in the cozy space of a small, crowded Tokyo club. After the first song, though, they hit their stride, and delivered over an hour of nimble, buoyant swing.

The trio was a perfect match: Laudat on accordion sandwiched between the thick, rumbling bass of Colson and the ringing dexterity of Dubantan's guitar. The lightness and bounciness of their rhythmic foundation was amazing. Rather than try to impress the crowd with too-fast licks and over-the-top pyrotechnics, the trio presented a laid-back approach that offered up sincere feeling and incredibly natural, polished tone. They had nothing to prove, but that attitude just proved their technique and approach all the more firmly.

Solos swapped all the way around, and then back around on every tune. Taking the cue from the accordion, they played with a swirling, circular feeling that conjured up endless lyrical melodies and deep vitality. Laudat's accordion sound ranged from pumping support to flute-like tones that sounded nothing like an accordion. Dubantan played Django-style runs and full-blooded chords with equal comfort. His vocals in French gave the standards an extra range of feeling, even if everyone in the crowd was thinking the words in their heads in Japanese (or English). Colson's bass solos were especially lively, with thick, muscular notes alternating with smooth, horn-like upper notes. Tanaka on clarinet and second accordion played with great technique and blended in wonderfully.

After the first set, the band took a break, and a bit of Paris took over. The club was thick with smoke, laughter, drinks and talk. Meishi flew back and forth with friendly comfort, and everyone wanted to talk with the trio. Then, the energy level raised up another level, everyone changed their seats again, and the second set started. Whether swinging "Begin the Beguine," "Besame Mucho" or "I Get a Kick Out of You," the trio, now with Tanaka adding great fills and clever inside rhythms, really got going. They played a couple of numbers before inviting anyone up to jam.

The session kicked off with Kobayashi the elder and Tomioka joining the trio. They dug right into Django territory for a tight, hard-swinging round of tunes. Then, Tanaka came up, Nagayama switched with Colson (so he could finish his beer) and Laudat handed over his heavy, lovely accordion to several specialists to jump in. The session kept rollicking another hour, with everyone mutually impressed.

Finally, though, four hours after the evening had begun, the show and session started to slow down. This reviewer had to catch his train, but it was clear that the musicians were getting their second wind and would play until late into the night. Blue Drag is just that kind of place; the musicians are just that kind of people; and accordion swing is just that special kind of music.