Description

Josef “Wawau” Adler is a jazz guitarist from the town of Karlsruhe in Germany. Wawau comes from a family of Sinti gypsies, so it is only natural that his biggest musical influence is the great gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt. While Wawau plays many styles of guitar, including bebop and modern jazz, he has gained an enviable, worldwide reputation for performing Gypsy Jazz. But Wawau’s musical style goes beyond simply following Django’s musical legacy. By adding influences such as Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, Pat Martino and George Benson, Wawau has developed a style which is uniquely his own. Django made such a strong impression on musicians that it is easy to become lost in the study of Django’s awesome technique. For many players, this becomes an end in itself. But what starts out as a noble goal often becomes a trap for the Django enthusiast. Technical aspects such as speed and volume can cause many players to lose sight of the soul and feeling of Django’s playing. For Wawau, technique plays a secondary roll to the pure artistry of Django’s great music.Topics covered include:“In The style Of Wawau Adler” is divided into two parts. In “The Songs”, Wawau and rhythm guitarist Denis Chang demonstrate Wawau’s style at slow, medium and fast tempos on 33 songs in the Django style. The songs were selected to demonstrate all of the common chord changes in the gypsy jazz repertoire. Although there is no tablature of Wawau’s playing, viewers will find much can be learned by simply watching and repeating Wawau’s phrases. Alternate, close-up angles are provided for more in-depth analysis.The second section is “The Lessons” where Wawau gives valuable insight into proper rhythm playing, dynamics, tone control and phrasing. Wawau then demonstrates 17 Licks which the viewer can incorporate into his or her own playing.