Joscho Stephan plays modern gypsy swing combined with jazz, classical and rock. That’s a heady brew and, with the help of his Trio, he puts on quite the show. They perform at Boulevard Music on Friday, and Stephan told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When did you start playing, writing and performing and when did it get serious?
I started when I was 6, first my dad taught me how to play guitar, mostly chords and Beatles songs and stuff like that. Then I continued with classical guitar, but at the age of 10 I was more interested in rock music and soon I started improvising. So I think by the age of 12-13 I was more into jazz and swing music, especially Django Reinhardt.
Describe your sound…
I think the basic idea is still to have a typical “gypsy swing” instrumentation, so acoustic guitars and double bass, but the sound has changed. We are not as traditional as most swing bands, we include a lot of originals and also well-known material (like Hey Joe, Cant buy me Love or classical tunes for example). We also play with different rhythmic ideas, including a funk song or some Latin stuff.
What are your career highlights so far?
There are a few to mention. First of all, my debut CD was the album of the month in the American Guitar Player magazine, which was a big deal for a 20 year old German guitarist at the time (2000). Highlights are of course concerts at Birdland New York or Lincoln Center in New York, I did an Australian tour with Tommy Emmanuel and my CD Guitar Heroes (2015) was nominated for the German Schallplattenkritik. My YouTube channel has been very successful for a few years now, so I think it is also a highlight to be able to reach a lot of people online.
Do you have any recorded music available?
Yes, there are a lot of albums available, so we will be selling them at our shows in the USA.
Have you played at Boulevard before?
Not yet, but the venue was recommended by the great Richard Smith, who is a good friend of mine, an absolute virtuoso on fingerstyle guitar, and he has played the Boulevard many times before.
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
A mix of classic gypsy swing combined with originals and of course people will see that we are a “real” band, that’s the great thing about this year’s California tour, it’s the first time I’m bringing my musicians from Germany with me. I am really looking forward to it.
What else do you have coming up?
After the US tour I will be doing 2 workshops (in Germany and Austria), then I will be touring in the summer (Germany, Italy, USA and France), in August another workshop in Italy, before I will be back in California in September with the Transatlantic Guitar Trio (with Richard Smith and Rory Hoffmann).
The Joscho Stephan Trio performs at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 31 at Boulevard Music. Go to boulevardmusic.com for more information about the show and joscho-stephan.de/en for more about the artist.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
There’s a full program of music at the Cinema Bar this week, as usual. The Hot Club of Los Angeles plays every Monday, and Wednesdays are singer/songwriter and open mic night. Other artists performing this week include Truck Stop Mixtape, John Juan, Dennis Spencer Group, Paul Chesne, and more. Go to thecinemabar.com for more info.
