Fapy Lafertin

Fapy Lafertin was born in 1950 in Courtraie in Belgium into the Gypsy community of Manouches. He started playing guitar at the tender age of five years. He was in a trio with his brother on guitar and his father on violin playing traditional Manouches music. Later he performed with the “Piotto” orchestra playing gypsy style and the “Hot Club de France” repetoire. In the late seventies he was a founder member of the group WASO with Koen de Cauter (reeds), Albert Vivi Limburger (rhythm) and Michel Verstraeten (acoustic bass).

Fapy is without doubt one of the finest exponents of the “Django” style. Not that he plays note for note versions of Django’s tunes, he takes the core of the music and brings to bare his own style upon them in such a way as to breath new life into them.