BRATTLEBORO — Twilight Music presents acoustic Gypsy Pop quintet Occidental Gypsy at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery on Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m.
Occidental Gypsy is pioneering the sound of Gypsy Pop, with their mélange of uptempo, high-energy rhythms of Gypsy swing/jazz melded with the catchy melodic hooks of contemporary American music.
The group was formed by brothers Brett and Jeff Feldman as a straight-ahead Gypsy jazz quartet. With the release of its album “Over Here” (2011) and the addition of new members, the band has developed a far more sophisticated and eclectic sound.
The Boston-based quintet is fronted by Berklee College of Music-trained singer and rhythm guitarist Scott Kulman and includes the Feldmans on lead guitar and bass, plus two Berklee students: violinist Jakub Trasak from the Czech Republic and percussionist Francisco Vielma from Venezuela.
Their name Occidental Gypsy (Western Gypsy) embodies the concept behind Gypsy Pop. The band has taken the Gypsy sound that originated in Eastern Europe and brought it “over here” to blend it seamlessly with contemporary American music.
Gypsy swing was created by pioneers Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, taking American jazz to the East and blending it with the Gypsy folk tradition. Now, almost a century later, Occidental Gypsy is bringing the music back home by complementing their original material with “Gypsified” cover songs.