Fri 3/15 @ 8PM
Gypsy jazz — a sophisticated European version of American jazz — was developed and popularized in the 1930s by the Quintette du Hot Club de France, fronted by two genuine jazz legends: violinist Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt.
The style continues to captivate music fans, as repeated performances at Nighttown by the Hot Club of Cowtown and the Hot Club of Detroit demonstrate. A quartet of seasoned Cleveland musicians has also banded together to play gypsy jazz, along with other types of early jazz. Hot Djang features guitarist Kevin Richards, well known in Cleveland music circles for founding the Fairmount School of Music and Roots of American Music; guitarist Brad Smedley, who has played in various roots-music ensembles; Kent State music professor Bryan Thomas on upright bass; and violinist Reed Simon, who’s been active in Cleveland’s jazz scene for more than 30 years.
Hot Djang has a standing gig on the third Friday of every month at Rockefeller’s restaurant in Cleveland Heights, where they play in the lounge from 8-11 p.m. It’s worth going to see the spectacular room, which, like the equally spectacular Crop in Ohio City, was once a bank. There’s a lounge menu of small plates so you can check out the food along with the cocktails and the music.
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118