Press Kit

The Man
Paul Vernon Chester is a phenomenal guitarist and composer having begun playing guitar as an infant and emulating his hero Django Reinhardt over a lifetime of hard but rewarding effort. He has now reached the peak of his powers and is truly World Class as a performer of the Manouche Swing or Gypsy Jazz Genre. He can hold an audience in silent rapture as he demonstrates his intricate and amazing skills on acoustic guitar. He delivers both tender emotional interpretations on ballads and a driving attack on up tempo numbers; both worthy of his mentor. Standing ovations are the norm and results in an audience that is most reluctant to leave. The Manouche Maestro and The Wizard of Walsall has also earned huge respect from his fellow musicians in the genre.

The Music
His style of Music and composition transcends all barriers and appeals to very wide audiences indeed, Folk, Jazz, Swing, Nostalgia, etc and he entertains magnificently in the true tradition of an itinerant Master Musician with an intimate contact ability. This is acoustic music without digital trickery, as with all great folk music it is very high art, and the European flavour of the Manouche Gypsy Jazz sound is readily identifiable to a very wide audience indeed. Whilst based in the jazz tradition the infectious enthusiastic format appeals to anyone who enjoys a live music performance. We encourage you to view his live videos for a brief introduction to this deep well of home grown talent. His repertoire is very extensive and this hard working duo delivers considerable value and provides entertaining anecdotes when introducing the individual compositions.

The Duo
Paul is ably supported by his cousin Nick Mellor who paralleled him in his interests in music as a child and now plays Rhythm Guitar along side him as his lifetime collaborator sensing every nuance and direction that Paul takes when improvising on a chord structure. The duo can be augmented by adding Violin and Bass to give a more varied and fuller sound for any larger Venues subject to the available budget.

Posters

'SUITE DJANGO’ – PAUL VERNON CHESTER One of the finest Django stylists in the world, and a wonderful composer, Paul has come up with a truly beautiful album of his own exciting tunes to depict key events and people in Django’s life. A real gem of a CD!
With Ian Cruickshank, Rhythm Guitar. and Andy Crowdy, Bass.
His playing is warm, open-hearted and high octane.
Track Listing:
Naissence
Valse des Enfants
Flame of Destiny
Redemption
Nin-Nin
Broad Brimmed Hat
Baro and Matelo
Hotel Claridge
Selmer Swing
American Dream

Newly Released Live Album

The first Live Album release is due 6th June 07 - CD Day

'Duets for Django' recorded at Live @ Concert Jazz In Thame on 14/03/07 (Paul's Birthday). This celebration may account for the Manouche Magic captured by Jake Kirkpatrick, at this high Quality Jazz Venue in Oxfordshire. This High Quality Production gives great insight to Paul's compositions, faultless technique and ability to improvise inventively on a chord structure and his tender treatment of .slow tempo compositions. The attentive listening audience were so enraptured that their presence is only apparent in the enthusiastic applause at the end of each number. A must for Manoucheries - This is professional stuff - no Bootleg productions - all worthy of our Highest Standards.
Track Listings are
Loverman
Douce Ambience
Chez Jacquet
Autumn Leaves
Lady Be Good
St Louis Blues
Mona Lisa
Blues en Mineur
Django's Waltz
Anouman
September Song
Minor Swing

Video Links

Paul Vernon Chester Video

Paul Vernon Chester Video - 2 (Autumn leaves)

Images

see Photo Gallery Above

Press Comment

Accessible jazz a hit at arts centre

By Laura Nesbitt Bridgewater Mercury

A FAST-FINGERED night of gypsy and hot club jazz was brilliantly executed at Bridgwater Arts Centre last Saturday (2nd June 07).

Raising money for Penrose School, Roger Collett presented guitarists Paul Vernon Chester and his cousin Nick Mellor who took the audience back to 1930s Paris through some exceptional musicianship. Feet were tapping in the packed arts centre after the opening few bars of I Can't Give You Anything But Love, only stopping for the exquisite ballads and injections of stories about their musical icon, Django Reinhardt.

The impact of Django runs deep through modern guitar, his music influenced many performers from Dire Strait's Mark Knopfler to blues legend BB King but it is Paul and Nick that claim to be the 21st century heirs of his legacy. And it is understandable why - the dedication they showed through the night was fascinating to watch, the detail and accuracy in every number was captivating.

Moulding classical music into a light and delicate sound and putting well-known songs though a hot club jazz interpretation, Paul and Nick produced a set of unadulterated music that celebrated life and love. During the night, they performed tracks including Nuages, Douce Ambiance, the hauntingly beautiful Anouman and the brilliant gypsy anthem Minor Swing, each with total passion and commitment to the music they have taken on as their own.

I sometimes find jazz difficult to listen to, but this was approachable and accessible music, light-hearted and fun - a real joy to take in.

The drive from rhythm guitarist Nick against the intricate - although seemingly easy - determination from Paul, made the set of colourful, emotional music an absolute success

Corporate Sponsors Required
To improve the quality of Performances at our regular gigs, or to maintain ongoing International Jazz Performers presences, we would welcome all degrees of Sponsorship from any Local or National Company that feels that Gypsy Jazz of this quality would assist in the promotion of their Corporate image in the UK and beyond.

Press Kit

Posters

Mail jazzmaster@jazzeddie.f2s.com with questions or comments about the format of this web site. Last modified: 25/04/2008

Mail jazzmaster@jazzeddie.f2s.com with questions or comments about the format of this web site.
Last modified: 25/04/2008