Fapy Lafertin

Fapy Lafertin was born in Courtraie, Belgium, into the Manouche gypsy community. From a very young age he played all kinds of instruments. He really started playing Hot Club de France repertoire with the Piotto orchestra. In the '70s and early '80s, he starred in the group WASO with Coen de Cauter, which was so successful, it popularized Django's Hot Club Jazz worldwide.

After leaving the group, he embarked on a solo career, playing with big bands and well-known jazzmen in England. In this period, he co-starred with Charlie Byrd, Scott Hamilton, Al Casey, Benny Waters and Milt Hinton. He also teamed up with Stéphane Grappelli in Glasgow.

Since then, he is regarded as an authority in the jazz world. In 1985, he started his own quintet in The Netherlands, inspired by the sound of Django Reinhardt's famous 1930s group. The Lafertin Quintet featured various well known Dutch artists such as Rudi Brink and Joop Hendrickx.

Since 2001, Fapy has taken up his old love: the Portuguese 12-string guitarra. —Courtesy Calabash Music