By Emily Bartelheim, Features Editor
The Hot Club of Detroit with vocalist Cyrille AimÈe and The College of Wooster’s Jazz Combo will perform in the Gault Recital Hall tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Jazz Combo, under the direction of professor of music Jeffrey Lindberg, will perform the music of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Jow Zawinal. Musicians include Etienne Massicotte ’12 on piano, Eric Moizuk ’14 on bass, Ben Turner ’14 on drums and both Micah Motenko ’13 and Keenan McDonald ’14 on saxophone.
The Hot Club of Detroit ensemble produces an eclectic sound and offers a well-rounded repertoire. Branching off from the original 1930s gypsy jazz group, Quintette du Hot Club, from France, The Hot Club of Detroit was founded in 2003 by students at Wayne State University in Detroit. The quintet is comprised of guitarist Evan Perri, accordionist Julien Labro, soprano and tenor saxophonist Carl Cafagna, rhythm guitarist Paul Brady and bassist Andrew Kratzat. The presence of accordion-playing Labro, a native of Marseilles, France, links the group to the original gypsy jazz roots, while Cafagna’s powerful saxophone-playing introduces bop and post-bop elements to gypsy jazz.
The group will be joined by French singer Cyrille AimÈe, who has performed throughout Europe and the United States to rave reviews. The New York Times stated, “Her singing is playful ó full of feeling, space and light.”
Gypsy jazz bands are typically played without a drummer, facilitating the use of the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument. A group including one lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars and a bass is often the norm, as the rhythm guitars essentially replace the drums. Rhythm guitar typically uses a special form of strumming known as “la pompe” in gypsy jazz. It is similar to the “boom-chick” in bluegrass styles and is what gives the music its fast swinging feeling.
The Hot Club of Detroit is a band that specializes in performing gypsy-style swing jazz music, mostly modern interpretation of repertoire of jazz guitarist and composer Jean “Django” Reinhardt.
While they’ve maintained some recognizable elements ó the absence of drums and the percussive “la pompe” rhythm guitar technique ó the Motor City quintet applies these elements to a decidedly modern sound, refusing to be constrained by allegiance to Reinhardt’s original ideal genre.
“Django Reinhardt was a jazz improviser like Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young or any of the other great improvisers of his time. We don’t approach our music as a gypsy band, but 100 percent as a jazz group,” guitarist Paul Brady said in a press release.
The group’s third CD, “It’s About That Time,” pays homage to Pat Martino, basing its chord changes on the composer’s work “On the Stairs.” The first half of the album borrows licks from other songs and pop-culture references, such as Nino Rota’s theme from “The Godfather” and Miles Davis’ 1969 album “In a Silent Way.” The rest of the album consists of originals by the band members themselves; as wide-ranging as the album is, the one constant is the group’s encouraged sense of individuality. “All of us come from different backgrounds and have very different musical training and influences,” said accordionist Labro. “Individually, we collaborate with musicians from many genres and styles, from classical, to jazz, to world†††† music.”
The group as been praised by many fans, including jazz musician James Carter, who said, “The Hot Club of Detroit plays with such reverence and passion. They play with a different level of conviction.” The band also won the 2004 Detroit International Jazz Festival competition and multiple Detroit Music Awards.
Lindberg called Hot Club “a sensational group,” so take hold of this great (free) opportunity to expand your musical repertoire to include a little more gypsy jazz. The Hot Club of Detroit’s performance is co-sponsored by The College of Wooster Cultural Events Committee and the Center for Diversity and Global Engagement. The concert is free and open to the public.