Moreno

Moreno Winterstein is a pivotal figure in the Alsatian school of Gypsy Jazz (Jazz Manouche). Unlike the more widely known Parisian style popularized by Django Reinhardt, Moreno's lineage traces back to the 'venerable' Paul 'Tchan Tchou' Vidal, emphasizing a sound more closely aligned with traditional Sinti and Eastern European folk music.

His sound identity is defined by an astonishingly fast right-hand technique and a preference for the Favino guitar, which offers a more robust, less 'polite' tone than the Selmer models. Throughout the 1990s, particularly with releases like Yochka and Moreno Boléro, he established himself as a 'guitarist's guitarist,' admired for his ability to perform high-speed improvisations with a cigarette dangling from his picking hand, eyes fixed on the audience rather than the fretboard. Critically, he is viewed as a bridge between the ancient nomadic melodies of the Sinti people and the structured improvisation of mid-century jazz. His cultural position is that of a traditionalist who refuses to be a museum piece, infusing the genre with a punk-like spontaneity and technical eccentricity, such as his signature use of tuning pegs to manipulate pitch during solos.