Raphaël Faÿs

Raphaël Fays ( born December 10, 1959 in Paris ) is a French guitarist of Gypsy jazz.

Life and work

Fays, who comes from the ethnic group of Roma, initially received guitar lessons from his father Louis Fays and then continued his education continued at the Academy of Music, where he studied classical guitar and composition. Already at the age of fifteen he had his own band, in which his father served as a rhythm guitarist. A year later he recorded his debut album, which in rapid succession followed by further recordings. He works primarily with his own ensembles. He is also, however, has also appeared as a guest musician with Stéphane Grappelli and Reinhardt Babik and has worked with Yorgui Loeffler.

According to Martin Kunzler he is the " most important contemporary exponent of acoustic hot- guitaristic in the immediate successor of Django Reinhardt. In his stylistics using influences from classical, flamenco, Latin American folklore and the Valse Musette.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Voyages (1989 )
• Impressions Andalouses (2000)
• Jazz Hot: The Gipsy Way ( 2001)
• "Ballade Manouche" (2006)
• " Swing & Classic" (2006)

Lexigraphic entries

• Martin Kunzler, Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 1 Reinbek 2002; ISBN 3-499-16512-0