Question for serious music theory buffs. Gypsy jazz, Latin jazz, and Flamenco...?

What musical characteristics disintguish these three styles apart from each other as they pertain to the guitar? Latin Jazz I know utilizes the phrygian modal scale, but so does Flamenco, and they both also have very rapid strums. I know almost nothing of gypsy jazz. Are they just different names for the same thing, or are there subtle differences? And if there are differences, what are they?

okay,

flamenco guitar, the main characteristic about this musical style is that it has very unique right hand techniques from Rasquedos (using different combinations of fingers for different strumming effects) and then to the Golpe (which is tapping of the guitar body to create a percussive sound) among other right hand techniques.

Latin jazz is different to flamenco where the focus of Latin jazz is not primarily on the guitar but often or ensembles. listen to some Jobim and you will hear.

gypsy jazz
probably the foremost pioneer of this style was Frenchmen Django Reinhardt. a gypsy who got a deformed hand in a caravan fire. this style is very close to the dixieland style of jazz with the accents on all four beats however the soloing focus more towards "changes" than dixieland. the rhythm or "comping" of this style uses many chord changes quite fast. Django was the first to do this rapid strumming as he slid a single chord up the neck of the guitar.

hope this helps,

they have different starting positions in the modern day scale.

The key distinguishing factor between these different styles is first a regional one. Latin Jazz generally refers to the jazz music of Latin and South America and the general fusions of these sounds with other jazz forms, it is probably the most broad and widely used of these terms today. Flamenco is very specifically a genre that originated in Spain, in particular Andalusia. Flamenco actually predates "jazz" in that jazz as we think of it began around the turn of the 20th century. Gypsy jazz is a style that was popular mostly in the 1920's and 30's, with the likes of Django Reinhardt, and tended to involve more Eastern European sounds and instruments (like the accordian and violin). Hope that helps to some degree, in terms of musical theory Flamenco is probably the most specifically dance oriented genre, gypsy jazz has its roots in folk music, and Latin jazz is a wide category embracing a lot of different jazz influenced traditions in the Americas.

Gypsy Jazz is played with a zest and fervency that comes from the soul.