aaamusic | On 05, Feb 2011

ANDREAS VARADY QUARTET

Monday 21^st March 2011

Ronnie Scotts, 47 Frith Street, Soho, W1

Reservations:www.ronniescotts.co.uk //  020 7439 0747

“Andreas Varady, like Django Reinhardt and Ferenc Snétberger, is a brilliant jazz guitarist of European gypsy stock and, at 13, may yet be the best of them all… a stunning appearance in Dublin proved the hype to be justified.” Irish Times

At thirteen years of age, Slovakia-born, Hungarian gypsy Andreas Varady is the youngest musician ever to headline one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world – Ronnie Scott’s. Already dubbed a “guitar genius”, and “incredibly gifted” by local media, “the boy who’s not much bigger than his guitar” claims the Belfast Telegraph “has become something of a sensation”.

Since the age of four, Varady has been taught by his father, Bandi, himself an accomplished musician.  At the age of eleven, Varady moved to Ireland and honed his craft attending jazz workshops and busking on the streets of Limerick.

It was there he first reached a national audience on RTE’s ‘The Guitar’ competition, and soon after the gigs came rolling in. Already he has performed with many of his guitar heroes – Louis Stewart, Andreas Oberg, Frank Vingola and Martin Taylor, who was so impressed, he featured him as a guest on his ‘Spirit of Django’ show at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, and on February 2^nd, announced Varady as the first to receive a scholarship to the Martin Taylor Academy.

Andreas plays mainly by ear and was inspired at an early age by Django Reinhardt, and later Wes Montgomery, George Benson and Bireli Lagrene. But it wasn’t until Varady contacted Irish drumming star, David Lyttle online last year, that he formed a magnificent group with Lytlle on drums, Michael Janisch on bass and, his father on rhythm guitar.  The four played together only once before recording Varady’s debut, Questions, a first-take-no-post production scenario.

Questions features a mix of originals and standards, with Andreas playing a solo track alongside a chance to hear some of his gypsy work, with his father on rhythm guitar.  “He plays with confidence, skill, obvious enjoyment and a genuine connection to the music” comments All about Jazz, concluding “Questions is a delight: fun, accessible, unpretentious and positive.”

Ticket Prices: £15.00 – £28.50

6pm:                Doors Open
7.15-8pm:       Support Act:  The Ronnie Scotts All Stars
8.30-10.30:      Andreas Varady Qt
11.00-Late:      The Late Late Show

www.ronniescotts.co.uk