It’s rare in music to be able to trace an entire genre’s roots back to one individual. In the case of gypsy jazz, it all goes back to the legendary Django Reinhardt, the Belgian guitarist who melded traditional gypsy music with the hot jazz popular in the 1930s. His aggressive, densely rhythmic guitar attack has had influence on countless musicians over the years, gypsy or not.

Guitarist Richard Sheppard, one-third of the New Hampshire and Maine trio Ameranouche, exists in that tradition, stretching from Reinhardt up through the few (but highly talented) gypsy jazz musicians operating today. The group, which is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, plays classic guitar-based gypsy jazz – fast, exciting and just a bit mischievous. Just like Sheppard himself.

“It’s intensely intricate guitar stuff. It’s incredibly fast, high-speed, high-energy,” said Xar Adelberg, upright bass player for Ameranouche, who makes her home in Augusta. “That’s how he is. He loves it. He’s in high gear most of the time. He attacks it holistically. He loves performing and rehearsing and everything about it.”

Sheppard, a New Jersey native who lives in New Hampshire, has been playing gypsy guitar for more than 20 years and wanted to start a full band in 2004. As fortune had it, he hooked up with Ryan Flaherty, another gypsy guitarist who ended up moving from Illinois to New Hampshire to join forces with Sheppard. Folks like Flaherty and Sheppard have to stick together. There aren’t a lot of them around.

“They met online. Shep played to him over the phone,” said Adelberg. “That was it. It’s proof that some good can come from the Internet.”

A year later, a Craigslist post enticed Adelberg, then a freshly graduated music student from the University of Maine at Augusta’s prestigious jazz program, to join up with the pair. Within days, she was in the band and underwent a crash course in gypsy music.

“Before I knew what was happening, it was already happening. The first challenge was that I’d never heard of gypsy jazz, so I had to figure it all out,” said Adelberg, 26. “Shep and Ryan know it inside out, so they taught me. I basically bought every Django Reinhardt CD and listened to all of it. I was totally immersed in it.”

Gypsy jazz differs from other forms of jazz in that it’s a style that has passed on mainly through families and friends. Very little gypsy music is ever written down.

“In the gypsy tradition, everything’s done by word of mouth,” said Adelberg. “In gypsy families, everyone gets together and everyone would play and memorize it all. [Sheppard and Flaherty] really wanted me to memorize everything. It was a real challenge. Plus, it’s so different from other styles of upright bass. It’s unique in that you generally play less notes. It’s a different density. It’s very interesting.”

Ameranouche has toured the East Coast as much as possible, though the group mainly sticks to New England. The name is building due to their reportedly incendiary live shows. As Adelberg said, Sheppard has a whole lot of energy to expend on stage. And it comes with the territory. When you’re playing music that’s meant to make people dance and party, it helps to kick it up a notch.

“As far as I can tell, it’s one of the most accessible kinds of jazz usually,” she observed. “Kids love it. Pretty much anyone who stops long enough to give it a listen loves it. It’s so uncommon in jazz nowadays. We always get a really good reaction. We have people who follow us around when we’re in the area. They want to get into it. It’s a good feeling to spread that, and the tradition.”

Ameranouche will play at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport as part of the Over the Bridge concert series. The group plays with Jay and Bjorn Peterson, a local folk duo. Tickets are $10 in advance at Bookstacks in Bucksport or by calling 469-8992. For information, visit www.myspace.com/ameranouchegj or www.myspace.com/overthebridgeproductions.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net

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