Barbes Brooklyn – A Musical Menagerie
By Daniel Berman
It’s 9:20 on a Sunday night in the dimly-lit Barbes, yet the bustle of activity outside its space on Ninth Street and Sixth Avenue makes it seem like the weekend is just beginning in Brooklyn’s tree-laden Park Slope. Under the glowing patina of the performance space’s tin ceiling, music aficionados young and old mingle in wait for a night of transcendent Gypsy guitar performed by French virtuoso Stephane Wrembel and his quartet “The Django Experiment.”
“In New York you always have new guys,’ Wrembel explains. ‘It’s about trying to get the latest and new thing. Most of the time it’s not successful,’ he gestures in regard to contrived, experimental music. ‘Most of the time it’s just weird and inaudible.” But this guitarist’s music is far from contrived – it’s the fruitful reward of a life filled with musical and cultural education.
Wrembel, who has been studying music for thirty years, is widely acknowledged in the gypsy and jazz scenes as one of the greatest guitarists out there, having mastered the finger-blistering style of Django Reinhardt — arguably the father of modern guitar. He clarifies: “Django’s music is like a foundation for me, but I don’t stop at playing that – it’s more of a very strong influence. It’s a perfect departure point to explore other avenues. All of the great guitarists listen to Django because he opened new doors and created new sounds with the guitar,” he reveals. And in many ways, Wrembel is an explorer himself.
Though Wrembel’s music is more of an homage to its legacy than an entirely novel style, his breadth of musical education shines through when he picks up the guitar. ‘I first heard Stephane performing when my brother took my family to see the show several years ago,’ Barbes patron Jesse Zakarin recalls. ‘My brother was taking guitar lessons with Stephane for several months and after sitting through my first show I was floored by his technical ability.” Mr. Zakarin, who tries to make a show at least once every few months, is most impressed by the improvisational extrapolation Stephane builds on top of Django’s style. Stephane, who has studied Classical, Flamenco, Gypsy, African, Indian, Jazz, and Rock, explains that his style is ever-evolving and reflects his life experience rather than simply his musical instruction. The virtuoso explains: “I develop my own style, which means I don’t stay in that box of trying to copy Django, which I don’t see the purpose of. I keep my own direction. It’s something I’ve been holding for ten years now, and I’d really like to keep my path going this way.”
It’s impossible not to envy Wrembel’s focus and integrity when he explains the specific nature of his music, and that achieving commercial success is far more difficult. “It seems that what I do is so specific that I’m not often asked to do something,’ he explains. ‘Sometimes I’m hired to do some solos in a pop or acoustic album, but it’s usually very short.” But Wrembel, who does film scoring as well, recently had the pleasure of featuring his mellifluous track, “Big Brother” in Woody Allen’s film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” a romantic comedy set in Spain. While the track is technically a tango, it sounds more like a bolero, he elucidates. “It’s very cultural, very Spanish’ he recalls of the movie, stressing the importance of infusing his work with cultural significance. ‘Of course there’s the typical Woody Allen story with relationship problems, but the setting is Spain, which is really organic and colorful,” he speaks through a grin.
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Wrembel, who began playing at Barbes the year of its opening and has toured the world, has been there nearly every Sunday since his first show and admits that it’s one of his favorite places to play. Co-founded in 2002 by musicians Olivier Conan and Vincent Douglas, Barbes is an intimately-sized bar dedicated to showcasing a variety of world music, so much so that it even brandishes its own record label. The label’s bands represent a wide swath of musical traditions and genres, including French, Polish, Latin American, African, Opera, and Orchestral, to name a few.
What makes Barbes unique is its dedication to preserving culturally significant music and building on top of that foundation. Barbes projects the preservationist mind-set one would associate with a museum, drawing from a deep reservoir of musical knowledge and education. And it doesn’t hurt that the venue’s owners are professional musicians. Both Conan and Douglas perform regularly with their group “Chicha Libre” at Barbes every Monday, stirring up the small dance floor with their vibrant South American Amazonian Rock. Conan, who plays the Cuatro – a miniature Latin guitar, first found his inspiration while on a trip to Peru, and has since adopted the style as his own. Douglas, a fantastic guitarist, spices up the music with tangy surf-rock licks and minimalist perfection.
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In the small performance space nestled in the back of Bar Barbes, John Dennison, a recent transplant to Brooklyn’s Park Slope from Providence, Rhode Island, sways in appreciation of the South American-Amazon-Surf melodies and extrapolations of his favorite new band. “I first heard about Chicha Libre from a DJ friend of mine back in Burlington, Vermont,’ he nearly shouts over the music, ‘and I was really thrilled when I finally heard them here.” John, who regularly enjoys the intimate Monday performances believes Barbes is a true asset to his community and also a place to meet others with great musical taste. “When I first moved to Brooklyn and checked the place out, I was amazed that there could be so much energy on a Monday night,’ he exclaims. ‘It’s a small dance floor, but it’s a hot dance floor!”
Dasha Sukovatitsyn, also a Brooklyn resident and music aficionado, can’t agree more: “My boyfriend first took me to Barbes for my 21st birthday, which was amazing, and I come here when I’m stressed or want a romantic night out,” the former Pennsylvania resident says. Ms. Sukovatitsyn, who has recently come out of unemployment, feels that the warm atmosphere and optional(though highly recommended) cover charge foster a relaxed atmosphere and make the music accessible to more people. “Barbes does the neighborhood a good service– and it’s not only my favorite hangout,’ she smiles, ‘–It’s a sanctuary for musical education and exposure.”