Ameranouche

Saturday, May 23

8:00 pm

Tickets at the door:  $12

map and directions

Coming to Studio 99 from their home base in NH's Seacoast and amidst their national touring schedule, the Ameranouche Trio features guitarists Richard Sheppard and Ryan Flaherty and upright bassist Xar Adelberg.

Voted Best of NH 2008 by the readers of NH Magazine...

This nationally acclaimed Gypsy Jazz ensemble plays acoustic music including both original compositions and unique arrangements by American and Gypsy songwriters. The music is universal and reaches diverse audiences worldwide.

Richard Sheppard plays lead guitar for Ameranouche: "His fingers dart across the strings faster than hummingbirds' wings," proclaims Jon Nolan of The Wire, a NH Seacoast Entertainment Magazine. "Sheppard is an aggressor on the guitar, really taking it to its limits. Many of the tunes showcase his ability to make that guitar talk. He forcibly makes the strings resonate, and then he dances across the entirety of the fret board in order to get Ameranouche's gypsy jazz sound," writes Christopher Hislop of the Portsmouth Herald.

Together, this rip-roaring ensemble is an uncanny force of hot acoustic jazz, sometimes referred to as Gypsy jazz or hot swing with a world edge.  From the band's website:

A·mer·a·nouche (ə-měrʹə-noosh) n. 1. An acoustic power trio with a Gypsy jazz edge comprised of two acoustic guitars and an upright bass. 2. American Gypsy jazz trio. 3. Of or relating to an American jazz ensemble. AKA the Nouche. The name is derived from two words; American and Manouche, the latter word actually meaning Gypsy, also referring to a specific tribe of Gypsies from which the great guitarist Django Reinhardt originated and the style of music often categorized as Gypsy Jazz.  Though Ameranouche is a modern, original group, its members acknowledge Django as an essential inspiration and spirit behind the groups ethos, and could never deny his influence, nor the encouragement and guidance of the Gypsy, Flamenco and Jazz community worldwide. So in a way, it is a way to say thank you and pay homage to all our influences. Thus you have the name, Ameranouche!

Ameranouche performances are patterned with virtuosity, eclecticity and inspiring energy. Audiences are taken aback by Sheppard's brillant guitar work and the group's ceaseless musicianship.

"The most important element of this music is the happiness, joy, and feeling of connectivity"

- Lowell Sun, Lowell, MA