Rob Flax, Jack Soref, Greg Toro
The Jack Soref Trio is an exciting gypsy jazz ensemble. Reaching both forward and back in time, it pays homage to the music of Django Reinhardt, while simultaneously enriching the tradition with its own compositions, arrangements and swinging improvisations.
They opened with Honeysuckle Rose, as the Trade Center’s overhead speakers announced “Yoga” and Emerson Hospital teaching “How to preserve your balance” in other sections of the auditorium.
But we came here for the Gypsy Jazz! And we weren’t disappointed. Next was Belleville, a neighborhood in Paris. Jack used to host a jam session in that neighborhood at a bar that sometimes has Jazz Manouche. Belle tune!
Some of our tunes – Out Of Nowhere, All Of Me; Stompin’ at the Savoy, some Charlie Parker – Billie’s Bounce. Django’s Nuage, Minor Blues.
Jack Soref
Boston’s premiere gypsy jazz guitarist Jack Soref has been heard on radio and at festivals all over the country. The Berklee College of Music grad has performed with such gypsy jazz luminaries as Adrien Moignard, Gonzalo Bergara, violinist Tim Kliphius and the great German Sinto musician Titi Bamberger.
For half of 2011, Soref studied the music of Django Reinhardt at its source in Paris. While there, he jammed with old masters Boulou Ferré and Romanian violin maestro Florin Niculescu, as well as the young virtuosos currently storming the Paris scene.
He says that Paris has arguably always been the epicenter of this music and it’s always been stronger there than any other city. But even in Paris, the level of enthusiasm, talent, and interest seems to have increased.
We’re happy Jack is back in THIS country, playing Django’s Gypsy Jazz for us! http://jacksoref.com/
Greg Toro is a Boston-born bassist who has been performing in bands since he was a child. He studied composition at Berklee College of Music and currently plays jazz, reggae, rock, pop, funk and bluegrass gigs around the northeast.
He has toured Europe and Asia, and is excited to see where his musical journey will take him next.
He likes Gypsy Jazz – this was only the third time he’s played with Jack – but he has a great tempo and knows how to use it.
Greg Toro
Rob
Flax
Rob Flax is a superb violinist, and also backs Jack by plucking the violin like a guitar, or tapping it like a drum.
He is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, improviser and educator based in Boston. He has performed locally and nationally, including opening for such acts as B.B. King and Tower of Power. He has also toured China, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Classically trained on the violin since age 8, Flax won the Alternative Styles Award for Improvisation from the American String Teachers Association.
Rob is a graduate of New England Conservatory, where he received a master’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation.