Fri 1/16 @ 8:30PM
Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was a Romani (often called “gypsy”) musician whose sound, created in partnership with violinist Stephane Grapelli, was the toast of Paris in the 1930s, later dubbed “gypsy jazz.” They formed an ensemble called the Quintette du Hot Club of France, who influence has persisted to this day in countless bands calling themselves the “Hot Club of [San Francisco/Detroit/Cowtown/Baltimore/Akron].
Cleveland jazz guitarist Brent Hamker is one of the many musicians still enthralled by this style of music nearly 100 years later. He performed for around five years with the Akron-based gypsy jazz-style ensemble Mustache Yourself!, and is continuing to work in that vein with a smaller, different lineup of instruments including bassist Kevin Martinez and clarinetist Brad Wagner. They’ll be playing in the new performance space at the back of the new Visible Voice Books location, where the movie theater used to be, offering both gypsy jazz tunes and American jazz standards. There’s a $5 cover at the door, which is a lot of music for very little money. And you can browse books before the concert. What more could you ask of an evening?