Festival Workshops - 2026

WORKSHOP FEE | $50 – up to 12 students, 60-90 minutes long
Master class FEEs | $60 to participate, $25 to watch

Thursday, September 17

10:00 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Getting the Right Sound/Gypsy Jazz Rhythm Guitar with Jimmy Grant

In this workshop, guitarist Jimmy Grant breaks down what it really takes to get the classic gypsy jazz rhythm sound — the kind that makes the whole band feel solid and swing hard. It’s not just about technique — it’s about touch, tone, time feel, and knowing your role.

We’ll cover:

  • The mechanics of La Pompe, step by step

  • How to get the right attack, muting, and chord voicings

  • The difference between “just playing chords” vs. really supporting the music

  • Tips for getting better tone and feel 

Whether you’re newer to the style or looking to refine your groove, this workshop will give you tools to make your rhythm sound authentic, clean, and swing in the gypsy style

12:00 PM | Langley United Methodist Church
Tips and Tricks for Simple Tunes with Gismo Graf

Join Gismo Graf as he takes tunes apart together with you, the participants, exploring the structures and discovering of the music and what can be done with them. He will demonstrate how he personally approaches learning and working on new tunes, while responding to the individual needs and questions of the participants. By the end of the workshop, everyone should leave with a handful of effective, practical ideas that they can immediately apply to their everyday guitar playing.

Friday, September 18

10:00 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Lead Guitar Phrasing with Sam Farthing

My insight into how the greats "sing" through their instruments. I will teach the melody and chords to the Django song "Folie a Amphion", as well as teach and explain some 0f the best phrases from the 2 choruses of solo and how to get the right sound out of the instrument when playing them. Ideal for people with experience in the genre but all are welcome.

10:00 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Getting Started with Unaccompanied Chord Melody Gypsy Guitar with Ray Bergstrom

Can you relate…? 

  1. Someone asks, “Hey, can you play me a song?” but all you know are single-note lines or rhythm playing. 

  2. You’re asked to do a solo gig but you can’t play unaccompanied for more than a few minutes, let alone for two hours. 

  3. You learned some straight-ahead chord melody, but it relies on fingerpicking and doesn’t translate to gypsy picking on a gypsy guitar.

I used to share these frustrations. However, the great swing guitarist Jonathan Stout inspired me to learn to perform solo, unaccompanied, and with a pick. Now, I’m comfortable playing solo gypsy guitar for hours.

In this workshop, I’ll share the methods, tips, and resources that helped me go from “licks guy” to “guy who can do a three-hour solo gig at the drop of a hat.”

11:30 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Demystifying thematic improvisation with Jimmy Grant

Django was a master of repetition! He could take a simple concept and use it a million different ways. During this course, I want to demystify how Django pulled some of this off.

We'll break down how to turn arpeggios into lines. We'll look at how you can take simple arpeggios (or not-so-simple ones!) and turn them into hip lines, working through both major and minor 2-5-1s.

I'll focus on some lines pulled directly from Django, Bireli, and even Robin Nolan.

This course requires some basic knowledge of the guitar.

11:30 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Efficient Practice and Accompanying Skills in Gypsy Jazz with Tim Kliphuis

Tim Kliphuis is the leading voice on gypsy jazz violin, having worked with the Rosenberg Trio, Fapy Lafertin, Angelo Debarre and more.

He will teach two topics: 

  1. straight from the Grappelli-Django Camp, his Efficient Practice workshop which will help you get better study results on standards;

  2. his trademark Accompaniment, which turns your violin into a modest but swinging comping instrument with shades of guitarists Django Reinhardt and Barney Kessel.

Saturday, September 19

10:00 AM | Langley United Methodist Church
Advanced Gypsy Rhythm with Michael Horowitz

This advanced rhythm workshop will teach you the sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic devices used by gypsy jazz legends Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene, Stochelo Rosenberg, etc. You will learn rhythmic techniques such as the Shuffle, Long, Hit, Roll, Triplet, Double Time, Tremolo, and Syncopation. Additionally, you will learn how to instantly reharmonize any jazz tune with the following techniques: Adding Tensions, Tritone Substitution, ii-V subs, Gypsy Style Turn-Arounds, Line Cliches, and Deceptive cadences. Some of the most advanced and beautiful Gypsy style chord shapes will also be demonstrated.

Sunday, September 20

10:30 AM | WICA Mainstage
Do’s and Don’ts with Gismo Graf with friends