NEW GLOUCESTER — Exhilaration, intensity, velocity, celebration:  There’s Gypsy jazz, and then there’s Ameranouche, a power trio that churns up a blazing acoustic whirlwind.

Ameranouche will be appearing at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Village Coffee House in the New Gloucester Congregational Church, 19 Gloucester Hill Road in the lower village.

Audiences delight when Ameranouche sneaks in a French waltz or a haunting Russian folk song, and then cranks up the heat up for Flamenco rhythms.  Often billed as a Gypsy jazz act, they use the term only as a springboard for exploration.

The award-winning Ameranouche trio features the solo guitar work of Richard Sheppard, backed by a rhythm section that can only be described as breathtaking.  Together, they cultivate a vigorous energy that arrives in a familiar package; a diverse demographic can relate immediately.

Ameranouche formed in 2004, and has been charging ahead, touring year round, ever since.  In 2008, they were the first Gypsy jazz group ever to play at the JVC Newport Jazz Festival (which originated in the 1950s), and received a standing ovation, opening for Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock.

In 2007, three of their original compositions were featured on a National Lampoon Soundtrack.   In 2006, they released their first CD, and have since released a second — both to critical acclaim. 

Richard (Shepp) Sheppard, guitar, comes from southern New Jersey. He attended the Berklee School of Music, studied guitar and composition with Pat Martino in Philadelphia, studied composition and aesthetics with Dr. Frank Haas in Vineland, N.J. and studied guitar with Attilla Zoller in Southern Vermont. He has taught guitar, composition, and music theory as a faculty member of Bennington College in Vermont and Pittsfield Community Music School  in Massachusetts. He has performed and done shows with many different artists. Among these are John Jorgenson, Ritary Ensemble, Rick Danko, Taj Mahal, Hot Tuna, and Vassar Clements, to name just a few.

Zach Pearson, also on guitar, is  currently living Boston. . He is fluent in many different musical styles, from classical to jazz, bluegrass to R&B, and has studied with a broad range of teachers from New England locals Draa Hobbs and Keith Murphy to French guitarists Adrien Moignard and Mathieu Chatelain. While earning his  bachelor’s degree  in guitar performance at Marlboro College, he started working with numerous ensembles, and continues to play contra dances as a member of Wendy and the Lost Boys and perform with the chamber group Ensemble San Geneviève. In 2008, he began seriously studying gypsy jazz and in 2009 formed his first ensemble in the style, Vol de Nuit. In 2010, he traveled to and lived in Paris, where he immersed himself in the style of Gypsy jazz. Returning to America in early 2011, he signed on with Ameranouche.

Stephen Gibson, bass, began playing soul and R&B in Philadelphia. Upon graduating the University of Pennsylvania, he has played extensively throughout the United States for several years. His playing interests and working career have embraced styles as diverse as world music, progressive metal and pop, with a certain fondness for jazz, both cool and hot. He has worked with, among others: Grammy nominated drummers Sully Erna and Shannon Larkin, guitarist/composer Lee Richards, and vocalist Julie White , a Boston Area Music Award nominee)

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors.  For more information, contact Julie Fralich 926-3161 or the church office 926-3260.