Guitarist, composer, bandleader, and singer Romain Vuillemin is one of the most versatile and busy Gypsy Jazz musicians around. In this interview, we get a chance to know him and his projects from the musician’s point of view and, most of all, from his human side who hears the universal characteristics of sound. Music is the best gift a musician can offer to the people, don’t you agree, Romain?
1 – What has inspired you to start playing music? Tell us about your influences and what was going on around you at the time.
I started playing when I was 11 or 12. I was a big Iron Maiden fan, and rock in general. I discovered Jazz way after that, despite my parents sometimes listening to some jazz big band music.
My parents are not musicians, but I have a cousin who played the guitar, mainly rock blues stuff… One of my neighbors also played some electric guitar, and my brother was also an amateur funk-rock drummer. Automatically, I ended at my neighbor’s door, telling him, “Man, show me how to play some Nirvana stuff”.
It was really basic, but I started this way. I bought a cheap electric guitar and amp, and my parents took me to the town’s music clinic. I spent a week playing with other kids. One morning, the guitar teacher showed a pop tune to every guitar player. The drum students also learn it with their teachers, and so on.
In the afternoon, bands were put together and we were given a room to practice the song… Only two minutes had passed by after the supervisors got out of the room, and we were already playing some Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins stuff!
Acabámos por criar uma banda de metal com estes miúdos durante alguns meses. Acho que eu tinha 13 anos na altura.
2 - Quais são os seus projectos actuais?
Currently, I’m working on my own Django project, the “Quarteto Romain Vuillemin”. Acabámos de lançar o álbum “Swinging in Paris,” where we are paying tribute to Django’s music, mainly his prewar period.
We focused this album on playing slower tempos than what is commonly played in the modern gypsy jazz scene. Django played a lot for dancers, and these guys used to dance medium to up-tempo tunes, which are comfortable to dance along.
Guillaume Singer is on violin, Stephan Nguyen on the rhythm guitar, and Jérémie Arranger on double bass. We’ve also invited Sylvain Hamel on one track on the clarinet, and I’m also singing one song.
Gosto muito da forma de tocar do Guillaume porque nos inspiramos um ao outro. Somos grandes fãs do período Django/Grappelli, por isso o nosso objetivo é fazer solos espontâneos, sem muita atenção à técnica, colocando a musicalidade em primeiro lugar... mas é um exercício complicado.
I’m also a huge fan of the big band era, and have the incredible chance to work with the Umlaut Big Band, where 14 musicians pay tribute to the prewar European Big Bands (mainly 1928 to 1940). The album “Euro Swing” was also released this year.
All the guys are fantastic players. They are more into modern and experimental music, but all decided to form a big band to party, and it sounds great!!! We did a concert with them in a church in Paris, and we’ve decided to extend the number of musicians to 38 (with strings, percussion, singers, etc.) and play the repertoire of the 50’s.
Chamámos-lhe, para a ocasião, o “Big Band de Umlywood”. We were supposed to play only this gig, but the experience was so cool that we’re hoping we’ll do more!! Also, I sang two songs. Believe me, singing in a 38-piece band is such a pleasure.
We’re also working on some kind of Nat King Cole trio project for which we don’t have a band name yet, with my friend Edouard Pennes and the drummer from the big band Antonin Gerbal. It all started as a way to practice other repertoire and other instruments.
Edouard and I are guitar players, and Antonin is a drummer, but in that project, Edouard and I play double bass, guitar, and also sing, while Antonin is either on drums or piano (mainly piano). This way, the same 3 guys can form several different trios: Edouard on bass, Antonin on piano, and me singing and playing the guitar and playing some Nat Cole trio tunes; or sometimes Edouard could be on guitar, me on bass, and Antonin on drums and play some Wes Montgomery stuff.
I’m also playing rhythm guitar in Ritary Gaguenetti Trio. He is a Gypsy from Jura (East of France) who played mainly some Rosenberg music at the beginning, then he went more into some electric guitar, learning a lot from George Benson’s albums.
We’re also working on some stuff with Swedish guitarist Gustav Lundgren for a tour in Spain. He invited me to play the Stockholm Jazz Fest with him last year. We’ve enjoyed the gig; he’s often in Spain, as I am, so we’ll be working on it!
3 - O Gypsy Jazz tem tido um enorme crescimento internacional em todo o mundo nos últimos anos. Como vês esta evolução, sendo tu de Paris, o coração de tudo isto?
Arguably, Gypsy Jazz has grown a lot, but I think the “big moment” really happened after Biréli Lagrene’s “Projeto Cigano” em 2002 e até 2007.
Although Paris is still the spiritual center of this style, you can now feel it has come back to a more aficionado tipo de música. É ótimo viver aqui porque Paris é onde vivem muitos grandes músicos.
Here you get the chance to get your ass kicked every evening in jam sessions, so you have to go home to practice. When you’re the best in town, you don’t have the same motivation to practice your instrument.
The interesting thing is that when you’re in Paris, you always see some guys coming from the other side of the world, spending all their savings trying to learn as much as possible. They take lessons, go to every jam session, and gigs. I guess that if I were a bebop guitar player, I would do the same: Travel back to its roots and go to New York.
4 – Can you identify what key elements motivate you to practice guitar?
I would say that taking a good cup of coffee right after waking up and listening to some good music, you would normally feel the need to play.
Mas nem sempre é assim que funciona. É por isso que tocar com músicos melhores desafia-nos sempre e dá-nos uma maior motivação. Lembrar-se-á de que foi bastante mau no passado e tentará ser melhor na jam session da próxima semana.
5 – What were the biggest challenges you have faced to progress in your practice, performance, and musical career?
Na minha prática, levar uma tareia nas jam sessions foi um grande desafio a ultrapassar.
Relativamente à carreira musical, gravar o seu próprio álbum pode ser um desafio. É preciso gerir o repertório e os arranjos. Depois, há que gerir os ensaios, as sessões de estúdio e até alguns conflitos dentro da banda.
On top of that, there’s this crazy process called “finding gigs”. It can be pretty challenging to balance the organizer’s low pay with the band members’ complaints about not being paid enough… And if you’re the bandleader, you’re stuck right in the middle.
6 - És um dos poucos tipos que toca Gypsy Jazz e também canta! Conta-nos mais sobre isso.
Singing is not my main thing. Although my singing is not at the same level as my guitar playing, I enjoyed it very much, for the music, and the audience also enjoys it, I guess.
Cantar dá outra atmosfera a um espetáculo de Manouche. A voz toca automaticamente as pessoas. É um instrumento tão forte. E afecta a forma de tocar dos outros elementos da banda. Acho que qualquer coro que siga uma melodia cantada terá automaticamente o objetivo de ser menos virtuoso e mais musical, e de alguma forma mais universal.
I think it’s good to sing maybe 2 or 3 songs in a gypsy jazz concert, but I wouldn’t consider doing an entire gig around singing songs.
7 - Lembras-te do teu processo de prática quando começaste a tocar? Quanto é que mudou ao longo dos anos?
My practice started when I was playing Rock, Pop, and Blues. Back then, I just grabbed a guitar and played a bit at home or with some friends.
Depois descobri Django Reinhardt e decidi que queria tocar esse estilo. Tinha 18 anos e apercebi-me que tinha de praticar muito. Foi aí que comecei a trabalhar como deve ser: arpejos, formas de acordes, treino auditivo, transposições, substituições harmónicas, etc.
Over those years, I understood that one of the most important things to practice is time. Nowadays, I’m focusing my practice on the rhythmic aspect of the music…
8 – Tell us about your routines. How does a regular day in your life look?
After 7 or 8 hours of sleep, I wake up, drink a gigantic cup of black coffee, listen to some music, or watch some players on YouTube to get my motivation flowing.
Afterwards, I grab the guitar, play 1 or 2 hours in the morning, stop for lunch break, and in the afternoon I either teach my guitar students, or I call a friend to come play at home.
Acho que não se toca da mesma forma sozinho no apartamento e numa situação de jam com algumas pessoas. É por isso que é melhor ser capaz de fazer as duas coisas.
À noite, ou tenho um concerto, ou tento descobrir onde os meus amigos estão a tocar e vou vê-los, ou encontro uma jam.
9 - Como é que equilibra o trabalho e o descanso? Qual a duração das suas sessões de trabalho e das suas pausas?
Sei que não consigo manter a concentração durante muito tempo, por isso tento jogar um pouco todos os dias. Isto funciona melhor para mim, em vez de jogar 8 horas por dia durante a semana e nada durante os feriados e fins-de-semana.
10 – What are your plans and goals?
My goals are to find some nice gigs with my 4tet. I officialized it with an album because the music I hear in my head is a 4tet. The thing is that a lot of places in Paris only book duets or trios, so it’s a way to play fewer gigs, but to offer more quality music when we play them.
Regarding my plans, I’d like to work more on the band with Edouard. It’s a tricky exercise, and I’m really in love with the American Swing music.
11 – There are a lot of different ways to play Manouche, and your sound, playing, and projects seem to be different in style, concept, and approach. What makes it so special? New compositions, arrangements, attitude, the community, and other aspects?
I’ve started playing this style by listening to Django and Tchavolo Schmitt. Later, I’ve got more into the Rosenberg playing to gain a bit of technique. Finally, I’ve listened to Biréli’s playing because he’s got a fantastic time, sound, and great harmonic ideas.
I’ve also listened to a lot of Chet Baker and Louis Armstrong, and I was amazed to see that they manage to play great solos with fewer notes, whereas sometimes in gypsy jazz there’s A LOOOOT of notes.
I try to keep the sound of the guitar that I like from the guitar players I’ve mentioned and, at the same time, play nice and easy melodies that could reach everybody, not only guitar players.
Well, that’s my objective. I guess I’ll be able to do it in a few centuries if I practice enough! 🙂
12 – What do you value the most in the music/musicians you love to listen to? What key ingredients do you love to hear when listening to a new album, musician, or student?
I like to value the universality of their music. I ask myself, “Does this reach me as a guitar player (because what the guy is playing is really complicated), or does it reach me because it’s simply beautiful and everybody would like?”
I have to admit that sometimes I also value a machine-like musician, with great technique, time, harmony, etc. But that’s because I’m a musician. I’m amazed at Jacob Collier’s videos on YouTube cause he’s incredible, but maybe I wouldn’t have watched them twice if I were not a musician.
13 - Medita?
Actually, I don’t meditate. I’m not that kind of person. I’m more the opposite, a hyperactive guy who’s afraid to do nothing for 5 minutes. But I should try someday, because I know that music is way better when the player is really relaxed.
14 - Qual é que considera ser o conselho mais importante que alguém lhe deu?
“Ne te reposes pas sur tes lauriers”
This is a French expression that means that you may be OK because you’ve practiced a bit, and some people play worse than you, but there are always some guys who will come and be better than you, so don’t ever stop practicing.
Acho que prefiro ser o mau jogador entre os bons do que o contrário.
15 – What would you say to Django if you had the chance to meet him? What would be the record, the musician, or the song that you would always refer to in a conversation with Django?
Wooow, if I could meet Django, I think I wouldn’t even be able to say a word to him. I would just beg him to take the guitar and start playing.
But if I managed to talk music with him, I suppose I would ask him how he felt when he heard Louis Armstrong, what he liked in his playing, if he liked Armstrong’s singing, etc.
I think Louis must have influenced Django since they both have this magic “easy, relaxed, beautiful, and universal” core in their music.
FOLLOW NUNO AT:
Website Book Store: https://www.nunomarinho.com/store
Video Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NunoMarinho
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NunoMarinho
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nunomarinhoguitar/
Facebook: /https://www.facebook.com/NunoMarinhoGuitar/