Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor, born on October 20, 1956, in Harlow, is a renowned British jazz guitarist, best known for his fingerstyle technique. According to the Jazz Rough Guide and AllMusic, he is considered one of the most outstanding guitarists worldwide. Taylor comes from a musical family with Gypsy roots. At the age of four, he began receiving guitar lessons from his father, bassist William “Buck” Taylor, who was heavily influenced by the music of the Quintette du Hot Club de France. As a result, Django Reinhardt became Taylor’s first major role model. By the age of eight, he was regularly playing in his father’s band.

At the age of 15, he decided to leave school to pursue a professional career as a musician. He initially played in Lennie Hastings’ orchestra and later also performed with the Count Basie Orchestra. In the following years, he frequently appeared in London, including duets with Peter Ind and Ike Isaacs, who had a lasting influence on him. Isaacs also introduced him to the famous violinist Stéphane Grappelli, in whose band Taylor played during the 1980s, performing with him for 11 years. During this time, Taylor toured North America with Grappelli, where he met David Grisman and recorded the album Sarabanda with him.

After his time with Grappelli, Taylor focused more on his solo career and released his first solo LP, Skye Boat, in 1982. Over the years, he released several albums on the Linn Records label. In the mid-1990s, he founded the band Spirit of Django, though he continued to tour as a solo artist. For a period, he was also a member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. In addition to his musical career, Taylor authored a guitar instruction book. In 2007, he was awarded both the BBC Jazz Awards and the British Jazz Awards for Best Guitarist. In 2012, he received the Scottish Jazz Award in the Live Jazz category.

Giovanni Weiss

At the age of four, Giovanni Weiss first plucked the strings of a guitar, inspired by jazz legend Django Reinhardt. More than just a love for jazz connects him to his role model. Born and raised in Hamburg, Giovanni Weiss grew up in the Wilhelmsburg district as part of the large Sinti family Weiss. In 2016, he was awarded the Echo in the jazz category for his guitar skills for the second time. Furthermore, his collaboration with renowned artists such as the NDR Big Band, Till Brönner Randy Brecker, Philip Catherine, and Pat Martino has earned him recognition far beyond the borders of his homeland.

Driven by his family’s mentality and the inspiration of his idols Django Reinhardt and George Benson, he began making music at the age of four with his cousin Robert Weiss, and later with his brother Jeffrey Weiss. What initially resembled a simple replay of the great Django Reinhardt hits quickly took on a life of its own. In this way, the young musicians found their own style with which they interpreted Sinti swing.

At the start of his studies at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, Giovanni Weiss founded a permanent trio, which in 2010 evolved into the successful formation Django Deluxe. Today, Django Deluxe consists of more than three musicians, and every concert is a unique experience. The guiding principle behind Giovanni’s projects is primarily emotion, which he likes to call “soul depth.” Giovanni Weiss and Django Deluxe strip the music down to its essence, allowing  it to travel directly from the musician’s soul to the listener’s heart.