Bireli Lagrene

Guitar is one of my favourite instruments to listen to, and Bireli Lagrene’s recordings are some of my most listened to records of all time. His abilities on the electric guitar as well as acoustic means that his style can be super versatile, journeying through swing, jazz, pop, and a bit of classical along the way. Going to see him live in concert, I wasn’t sure what I was going to hear performed, but the jazz fuelled night lived up to and beyond my expectations from the moment he picked up his instrument and began an improvisation before introducing himself and his band.

There were several moments throughout the show when people would jump up from their seats to dance along to the jazzy rhythms with their neighbours, and ever single song received a standing ovation. Of course on recordings you can tell that Lagrene is incredibly talented, but watching his fingers dance across the fret boards in a seemingly effortless manner really makes you appreciate the extent of his skill. With so many albums, it must have been difficult to select a set, but he mainly focused on Mouvements, his newest album, and also played some awesome tracks from earlier work. The rest of his band were incredibly talented too, and they all worked together magnificently.