| Jazz manouche |
Sébastien Kauffmann – O Sinto: Twenty Years of Gypsy Swing, and a Masterpiece of Heart and Fire.
O Sinto, the new record by guitarist Sébastien Kauffmann on the prestigious Frémeaux & Associés label, turns an anniversary into a statement. Twenty years into his career, Sébastien delivers an album of blazing technique and, even more, of deep feeling: swings, waltzes, ballads and songs, original compositions and surprising covers, all rooted in the Sinti culture to which he and his singer Heidi Adel belong. It is a joy from beginning to end. A must!
Heir to the Alsatian and Moselle school of Gypsy swing, in the lineage of Tchavolo and Dorado Schmitt, Kauffmann has a flamboyant style that unites a vigorous right-hand attack, a left hand of steel, shifts between chords and single notes, lightning accelerations and rippling runs of notes that make the strings crackle. What strikes you on this record is how this fire has matured. With the years, the fiery guitarist has become more attentive to the sculpting of each note, to the construction of a chorus, to breathing and space. On “Maro Djiben” he makes his notes sing, and on “Symphonie” he is in a state of grace. The virtuosity is still there, but it serves the music, and that is what makes it radiant.
Having been known for years under a stage name, he has been releasing his music under his own name since 2023, after Une Coupe de jazz, and O Sinto, his eighth studio album, now feels like the confident, fully assumed portrait of an artist at the height of his powers. Playing his own Selmer-style guitar, built for him by luthier Cyril Gaffiero, he sounds fully at ease and utterly sure of himself.
Balance and emotion are the two key words of this album. Balance first in the repertoire, which alternates original pieces and covers, instrumentals and songs, swings, waltzes and ballads. And balance in the group: alongside Kauffmann’s regular trio, with Arnaud Winterstein on rhythm guitar and Antoine Godey on double bass (an impeccable rhythm section), the album welcomes the very fine violinist Manuel Decocq and the pianist Mica Lecoq. Both bring swing and fluidity.
At the heart of the group’s identity stands Heidi Adel, Kauffmann’s partner in life and on stage. She has a distinctive, instantly recognisable voice, and she writes all the lyrics, in French for “Songe d’automne” and, above all, in Romani, the language of the Sinti, for several pieces: three of Kauffmann’s compositions, her version of “Indifférence” and her adaptation of “Le Temps des fleurs”. These Romani words give the album a deeply human and personal character, and they turn familiar melodies into something new while affirming the roots of the whole project. It is no accident that the booklet carries Heidi’s own text, in which she explains with simplicity and pride who the Sinti are, where the word “Manouche” comes from, and why music has always been the one thing her people have never needed to hide, and which has so often saved them.
Sébastien signs five originals and, honestly, they could already be classics. “Sourire de Paris” is a remarkable waltz, both virtuosic and supple, “Maro Djiben” is a bossa sung in Romani that gradually bends into swing, “Un Soir de Septembre” and “Hopla mo tchavé”, the latter dedicated to his children, are spirited swings in the great tradition of the German Sinti guitarists. And the title track “O Sinto” opens the album with a statement of identity.
The covers are chosen with just as much originality. “Le Temps des fleurs”, an old Russian Romani romance that became a worldwide hit in the sixties, gets a new life in Heidi’s adaptation. “Si j’étais une cigarette”, a little-known song from 1950, is a delight at over six minutes, “Reality”, Vladimir Cosma’s theme from the film La Boum, is reworked with great charm, and “Quand on aime”, a Greek song once sung by Luis Mariano, is sung with touching feeling by Sébastien himself, in memory of his grandfather.
And of course, the album pays homage to the master without whom this music would not exist: Django Reinhardt. “Symphonie” and “Manoir de mes rêves” are given an inspired, elegant and poetic treatment, in a way that feels respectful and alive at the same time.
O Sinto is a record of rare balance: virtuosity and tenderness, tradition and renewal, pride and humility. It was recorded in four days in March 2026 at the La Menuiserie studio in Noisy-le-Sec, with a clear, warm and natural sound, and it comes with a handsome cover illustration by Joann Sfar and a very informative booklet. Sébastien Kauffmann ends his thank-you note with the words “this album belongs to you”, and when you listen you feel that he means it. It is a generous, heartfelt album that honours the Gypsy jazz tradition while renewing it, and it deserves a lasting place in the history of Manouche swing. I say it again, it’s “a must”!
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, October 28th, 2026
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Tracklisting:
- O Sinto (Heidi Adel / Sébastien Kauffmann) 3:29
- Hopla mo tchavé (Sébastien Kauffmann) 3:49
- Le Temps des fleurs (Eddy Marnay; adaptation: Heidi Adel / Mary Hopkin) 4:47
- Sourire de Paris (Sébastien Kauffmann) 2:33
- Songe d’automne (Heidi Adel / Archibald Joyce) 4:26
- Si j’étais une cigarette (Louis Poterat – André Salvador / Henri Bourtayre) 6:20
- Un Soir de septembre (Sébastien Kauffmann) 2:50
- Maro Djiben (Heidi Adel / Sébastien Kauffmann) 4:21
- Symphonie (Django Reinhardt) 2:39
- Quand on aime (Jacques Datin – Maurice Vidalin / Gerasimos Lavranos) 4:11
- Indifférence (Heidi Adel / Tony Murena) 4:25
- Manoir de mes rêves (Django Reinhardt) 4:58
- Reality (Jeff Jordan / Vladimir Cosma) 3:42
Total running time: about 52:30.
Musicians:
Sébastien Kauffmann – lead guitar (and vocals on track 10)
Arnaud Winterstein – rhythm guitar
Antoine Godey – double bass
Manuel Decocq – violin (all tracks except 4)
Heidi Adel – vocals (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11)
Mica Lecoq – piano (tracks 2, 6, 13)
Credits:
Produced by FL Prod (direction: Luc Foubert)
Recorded March 9–12, 2026
Mixed and mastered March 16–20 at Studio La Menuiserie, Noisy-le-Sec, by Remy Bourcereau
Cover illustration by Joann Sfar
Photos by Anthony Voisin and Julien Hay
Sébastien Kauffmann plays a Selmer petite-bouche model guitar by Cyril Gaffiero, and the piano is a Steinway B211.