Fapy Lafertin guitar

Fapy Lafertin was born in Courtraie (Belgium) into the Manouche gypsy community. From a very young age he played all kinds of instruments. He really started playing Hot Club de France repertoire with the Piotto orchestra. In the seventies and early eighties he starred in the group WASO with Coen de Cauter, which was so succesful it popularized Django's Hot Club Jazz worldwide.
After leaving the group he embarked on a solo career, playing with big bands and well-known jazzmen in England. In this period he co-starred with Charlie Byrd, Scott Hamilton, Al Casey, Benny Waters and Milt Hinton. He also teamed up with Stéphane Grappelli in Glasgow.
Since then he is regarded as an authority in the jazz world. In 1985 he started his own Quintet in The Netherlands, inspired on the sound of Django Reinhardt's famous 1930s group. The Lafertin Quintet featured various well-known Dutch artists such as Rudi Brink and Joop Hendrickx. Since 2001, Fapy has taken up his old love: the Portugese 12-string guitarra.

The press about Fapy:

• "Fapy has a sound that might even have made Django envious ... a mature guitarist at his peak" (Michael Dregni, Vintage Guitar Magazine, USA)
• "With his fiery technique and strong melodic sense, Lafertin takes the recreation of '30s music one step further" (Francis Couvreux, Etudes Tsiganes, France)
• "Lafertin delves into the realms beyond Django" (Guitar Technique, USA)
• "The legitimate heir to Django's crown" (clarinettist Bob Wilber, England)

Discography

• Fleur d'Ennui (Timeless Records, The Netherlands, 2001)

• Star Eyes (String Jazz, England, 2000)

• Hungaria feat. Bob Wilber (Le Jazz, England, 1996)

• Swing Guitars (Le Jazz, England, 1995)

• Aurore (Studio 88, The Netherlands, 1993)

• Fleur de Lavende (Hot Club Records, Norway, 1990)