With swoon-worthy vocals and violin prodigy out front, Occidental Gypsy returns to Community Arts Center

Occidental Gypsy is returning to the Community Arts Center in Williamsport on Thursday, September 17, 2015, following their celebrated, sold-out performances at the California DjangoFest and Green Mill Jazz Club in Chicago this summer, among others.

This nationally touring outfit redefines gypsy music, and vibrantly deliver "Hot Jazz" classics and  innovative original music in the same swinging vein.  The band features two notable jazz heirs out front: Jeremy Frantz, the guitarist and vocalist for Occidental Gypsy, is the protégé of legendary jazz guitarist Joe Negri. Another Occidental Gypsy member is 24 year old Eli Bishop, an award-winning musical prodigy who has played with Wynton Marsalis and regularly performs at Jazz at Lincoln Center.  This duo, along with traditionally, gypsy-style trained founding brothers, Brett and Jeff Feldman along with international percussionist Erick Cifuentes, makes an eclectic and irresistible acoustic sound worth traveling to hear. Get gypsified, and be glad you did.

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RECENT PRESS, SUMMER 2015:   Review by Don Heckman of the L.A. Times:  “… the hard swinging similarities between the Occidental Gypsy togetherness and the classic Hot Club interaction between guitarist Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli… results were irresistible, a virtual definition of an era when jazz was often described as “hot” music.  Occidental Gypsy’s rhythm section, usually driven by the surging rhythm guitar of Brett Feldman, hit one irresistible rhythmic groove after another, “hot” was the best applicable adjective.”  -read full review

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RECENT PRESS, SUMMER 2015:  Chicago Tribune Concert Review "… there were sonic pleasures to be had, particularly in an energetic, gypsy-jazz transformation of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” which opened the evening. More than once, vocalist-guitarist Frantz brought the large crowd to near silence through the warmth and openness of his singing, as in “Georgia on My Mind.” Others may command bigger, brighter voices, but the heartfelt quality and reedy tone of Frantz’s singing disarmed listeners."   -read full review

MORE ABOUT THE BAND:

Band Website:  www.occidentalgypsy.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/occidentalgypsy

Occidental Gypsy delivers an exhilarating blend of gypsy swing, jazz and world music with a riff-rich acoustic sound and sultry vocals reminiscent of the first era of swing.

Nationally recognized Occidental Gypsy plays a dynamic, multi-genre mix of original vocal and instrumental pieces and with many notable covers like a “gypsyfied” take on Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  The Boston Globe has named them a “Best Bet for Weekend Entertainment,” and musician David Bromberg said of the group, “great singing, fantastic guitar and violin work, with high energy originals that leave the crowd crazy. An awesome band.”

Occidental Gypsy is pioneering the sound of world Gypsy music.  Their mélange of uptempo, high-energy rhythms of gypsy swing, melded with catchy melodic hooks and the complex structures of jazz, delivers a thrilling auditory experience to listeners.

Well known as capable heirs of Django Reinhardt, Occidental Gypsy is invited to play the 2015 DjangoFest in Mill Valley, California.  The band has sold out legendary venues such as Nighttown in Cleveland, offered concerts and workshops at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Blue Wisp in Cincinnati among many other notable venues in over 25 states.  The band has shared the stage with such greats as Rikki Lee Jones, Jorma Kaukenen, Stanley Jordan, Joe Sample, Tony Rice, and David Bromberg.  Band members have also participated in side projects that have brought them around the world alongside legends.

After completing his recent tour with Wynton Marsalis, Occidental’s violinist Eli Bishop rouses audiences with his award-winning lightning-fast violin, while lead guitarist Brett Feldman drives the sound with swinging gypsy guitar.  Jeremy Frantz— a protege of legendary jazz guitarist Joe Negri— brings his sultry, “retro” vocals and expert jazz guitar to the front line, and serves as an exquisite counterpoint to the down-and-dirty driving sound brought by Brett.  Guatemalan percussionist Erick “Banny” Cifuentes and bassist Jeff Feldman fill out the band’s rich sound and keep feet stomping with beats and complex rhythms that make their audiences keep coming back for more.