01.06.2018 Tcha Limberger Trio with Mozes Rosenberg – ‘Live’ in Foix

A hot night of Gypsy Jazz in the French Pyrenees

‘Tcha Limberger is a super-skilled and versatile violinist, who plays in a number of different genres. Sometimes it’s Transylvanian folk, sometimes it’s Budapest restaurant repertoire, sometimes it’s Django Reinhardt-style swing – all styles closely associated with Gypsy musicians. It’s Gypsy swing that’s the focus here; the tradition Limberger was born into in Belgium. For this live concert in the French Pyrenean town of Foix, he is joined by Dutch Gypsy guitarist Mozes Rosenberg, also born into a Sinti family steeped in this music. This concert was apparently the first time Limberger and Rosenberg had played together, but you would never guess – everything is confident and coordinated and Limberger gives him plenty of room to shine. Rosenberg really is a superb guitarist, with super-fast virtuoso melodies and feathery ornamentations, demonstrating real panache on ‘Some of These Days’. Limberger adds occasional vocals and his scat singing in ‘I Surrender Dear’ is less of a highlight. There are only two Django Reinhardt numbers, one of which is the delicate and little-known ‘Pour Que Ma Vie Demeure’. Tracks by Cole Porter, Louis Armstrong and more are given the same Gypsy swing treatment.’

Simon Broughton – SONGLINES