Hot Club of Detroit

continued

to learn how to swing. Drummers were particularly offensive in this respect. But in 1934 a French label released the first recordings of a novel group that called itself the Quintette du Hot Club de France, led by a Belgian-born Gypsy guitarist named Django Reinhardt, and the French violinist Stephane Grappelli, backed by a rhythm section of two guitars and a bass. They played American standards like "Dinah," but in a manner that combined Gypsy and French dance music with jazz. This was, without a doubt, the first original European jazz. Grappelli spent the war years in England, but other than that, the group stayed together, off and on, until 1948.

Reinhardt, who had developed an astounding solo guitar style, died in 1953, but his legacy has lived on, passed on to his guitarist son and to many others who have continued to play in his manner all over Europe and elsewhere. There are a number of Reinhardt festivals each year, and Hot Club quintets exist in many countries, carrying the Gypsy Jazz tradition.

One of these is the Hot Club of Detroit. Founded by guitarist Evan Perry, it started out as a Django Reinhardt tribute band, but quickly began to develop rather than merely re-create the legacy of the great Belgian Gypsy master. Their instrumentation is unique, eschewing the traditional lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and violin of Reinhardt-type groups. The Hot Club currently consists of Paul Brady (rhythm guitar), Julien Labro (button accordion, accordina), Carl Cafagna (tenor and soprano saxophones), and Shannon Wade (bass), in addition to Perry's lead guitar. All are highly trained musicians; they come from different places, but most of them met while studying music at Wayne State University