Bireli Lagrene

He’s a talented and boundary-breaking musician, says John Wheatcroft as he explores the style of this virtuoso gypsy guitar genius.

- John Wheatcroft

Biréli Lagrène was born in 1966 in Alsace, France into a family of Romani musicians. Surrounded by music he started playing guitar before his fifth birthday; he and brother Gaiti would play constantly, inspired by the performers within their community and by the recordings of Django Reinhardt. Biréli developed prodigiously and was performing concerts before his teens. He recorded his first album, Routes To Django, in 1981, and even at this young age his playing was staggering. Thirty-plus years later his style is still evolving and, while the Django influence is never far away, he is no mere copycat, with a clear sense of identity and a relentless desire to maintain integrity and truly capture the uniqueness of each moment he plays.