The Origins program Stéphane Wrembel composed in 2012 opens with a piece called “The Voice from the Desert” — framed by its creator as “a symbolic journey through dreams and inner landscapes” with “a mystical, almost Castaneda-like energy.” That kind of prose can hover in press-release territory. With Wrembel, it tends to be descriptively accurate.
About the Show
Friday is night two of a four-show Rochester residency at Lovin’ Cup, each evening devoted to a different program from distinct eras of Wrembel’s compositional catalog: Terre des Hommes (2008) on Oct. 8, Origins (2012) on Oct. 9, Dreamers of Dreams (2014) on Oct. 10, and a Django Brunch on Oct. 11 at noon. The structure treats each program as its own argument, not a setlist assembled for variety’s sake. The Origins material is described as “eclectic, organic, sometimes bluesy in spirit.” Wrembel performs with Josh Kaye on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums.
Wrembel was born in Paris and raised in Fontainebleau — the same French town that shaped Django Reinhardt, a connection he has pursued with some rigor. He spent years in Sinti camps learning the guitar tradition directly from masters Angelo Debarre and Serge Krief before attending Berklee, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2002. His composition “Bistro Fada” became the theme to Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris (2011); the soundtrack earned a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack, and Wrembel performed the piece at the 2012 Academy Awards alongside Hans Zimmer, Esperanza Spalding, Pharrell, and Sheila E. He also founded Django à Gogo in 2003, an annual guitar festival that now includes Carnegie Hall editions. The New York Observer called him “the living face of Gypsy jazz”; critics have described him as “perhaps the most creative improviser in Gypsy jazz today.”
Venue & Logistics
Lovin’ Cup is a bar and music venue in Rochester, in the Finger Lakes region, with 250-seat capacity and community seating — shared tables throughout, all ages. For Wrembel’s program, which rewards the kind of attention that comes naturally in a room this size, the format fits. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 day of show. Online ticket sales close on event day; tickets remain available at the door. Buy tickets.