Stéphane Wrembel is, quite simply, one of the finest guitarists of his generation. Since his public debut in 2002, he has released a steady stream of acclaimed recordings, establishing himself as one of the most distinctive and original voices in contemporary music.

Born in Paris, Wrembel began his musical journey on the classical piano at age four. During his teenage years, he discovered Pink Floyd and the guitar. “And then I found out about French guitarist Django Reinhardt,” he recalls.

Captivated by Reinhardt’s impressionistic artistry, Wrembel immersed himself in Sinti culture, spending years learning from the masters of this living musical tradition. He studied with renowned Sinti guitarists, including Angelo Debarre and Serge Krief, before moving to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music.

That same year, his debut album, Introducing Stéphane Wrembel, was hailed by Vintage Guitar Magazine. After relocating to New York City in 2003, his reputation grew rapidly. His early albums, Gypsy Rumble (featuring mandolin legend David Grisman) and Barbes-Brooklyn, drew critical acclaim and launched his career at full steam.

Beyond his solo work, Wrembel founded Django à Gogo, an annual music festival and guitar camp celebrating the art, culture, and evolution of Sinti-inspired guitar. The event has grown into a weeklong celebration, bringing together some of the world’s finest musicians. Based in Maplewood, New Jersey, the festival quickly expanded to New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and later to Los Angeles, Canada, and beyond. (Enjoy a piece of a performance here.)

Wrembel’s global breakthrough came unexpectedly with his composition “Bistro Fada,” a charming waltz that became the theme for Woody Allen’s 2011 Oscar-winning film Midnight in Paris. In 2012, Wrembel performed “Bistro Fada” live at the Academy Awards alongside Hans Zimmer. (A live performance here.)

Wrembel continues to expand his artistic reach with every project. In 2019, he produced Les Yeux Noirs, the debut album by Django’s great-grandson Simba Baumgartner. That same year, he released Django L’Impressionniste, a groundbreaking recording of 17 rare compositions by Reinhardt that Wrembel painstakingly transcribed over four years. He further honored the work by publishing the transcriptions in a beautifully bound book of sheet music in 2021.

In 2021, Wrembel introduced Django New Orleans, a nine-piece ensemble that fuses New Orleans brass and rhythms with the intricate guitar style of his French heritage. His most recent release, Django New Orleans II: Hors-Série (November 2025), features another milestone: Wrembel’s debut as a lead vocalist.

Today, Stéphane Wrembel is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent guitarists and composers—an artist who honors tradition while reinterpreting it through a modern lens. “I just play my own music,” he says. “I like to believe that it is beyond any one genre and that there is something in it for everyone. It’s not only for Django lovers or jazz lovers—it’s for the music lover.”

Don’t miss his debut appearance in Charlotte at Middle C Jazz on February 22.

Article written by Middle C Jazz Marketing Support, Scott Homewood