The Hot Club Of San Francisco - 2 albums: Live At Yoshi's / Swing This

Album: Live At Yoshi's
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 74:27
Size: 170.5 MB
Label: Azica
Styles: Gypsy jazz, Swing
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:37] 1. R-26
[4:53] 2. It's Alright With Me
[4:47] 3. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[5:24] 4. Syracuse
[5:41] 5. Songe D'automne
[6:49] 6. Just One Of Those Things
[5:41] 7. C'est Si Bon
[3:56] 8. Gone With The Wind
[4:49] 9. Dinette
[5:27] 10. I Love Paris
[4:59] 11. Dansons La Rose [roses Of Picardy]
[5:19] 12. Stella By Starlight
[5:36] 13. Buona Sera
[7:24] 14. Milord

The Hot Club of San Francisco is one of many bands focusing on the legacy of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, co-leaders of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and innovators of swinging Gypsy jazz. But the HCSF have never slavishly stuck to the repertoire of the band that inspired them, preferring to build upon it. Lead guitarist Paul Mehling is an impressive soloist in Django's style without copying him, while Evan Price (formerly with the Turtle Island String Quartet) is a swinging violinist who has developed his own sound. After opening with a rarely performed Reinhardt/Grappelli instrumental, "R-26," much of this engagement recorded at Yoshi's features Isabelle Fontaine, a swinging yet never showy vocalist with an easygoing style. Henri Salvador's "Syracuse" features Fontaine's soft vocal, beautifully accompanied by the band. Cole Porter is one of Fontaine's favorite composers, so she chose several of his standards for this set. She includes the oft-omitted verse to "Just One of Those Things" and a playful "I Love Paris," in which Price nearly steals the show with his imaginative violin solo. She even restores the luster to "C'est Si Bon," a song so often performed in a hackneyed manner that it wore out its welcome for a long time. Recommended. ~ Ken Dryden

Recording information: Yoshi's, San Francisco (10/25/2011).

Isabelle Fontaine (vocals); Paul Mehling (guitar, banjo); Jeff Magidson (dobro); Evan Price (mandolin, violin); Jeff Sanford (soprano saxophone); Clint Baker (trumpet, trombone); Sam Rocha (tuba); The Wit-Lesses (background vocals).

Live At Yoshi's

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Album: Swing This
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:21
Size: 119.8 MB
Label: (Self released)
Styles: Swing, Gypsy jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[4:50] 1. Tchavolo Swing
[2:25] 2. Swing This
[3:43] 3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
[5:23] 4. Till We Meet
[4:14] 5. The Man I Love
[5:03] 6. The Breeze And I
[5:24] 7. Nica's Dream
[3:59] 8. Lullaby Of The Leaves
[4:04] 9. A Little Waltz For Mischa
[3:27] 10. Limelight
[4:13] 11. The Very Thought Of You
[2:32] 12. Anitra's Danse
[2:56] 13. Improvisation

The Hot Club Of San Francisco: Sylvia Herrold (vocals, guitar); Steven Strauss (vocals, ukelele, acoustic bass); Paul Mehling (guitar, viola); Julian Smedley, Jeremey Cohen (violin, baritone violin); Jenny Scheinman (violin); Rob Burger (accordion). The music of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli has long been a favorite of swing fans. Their approach is adapted by the Hot Club of San Francisco in arrangements of modern jazz compositions, pop tunes, classical music, and their own originals. Guitarist Paul Mehling (who plays all of the guitar solos, while also doubling on viola) contributed the upbeat "Swing This," which also features Jenny Scheinman's swinging violin, as does the toe-tapping arrangement of "The Man I Love" (a favorite of Grappelli). Both Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" and Gerry Mulligan's "Limelight" also sound great recast in a new light. An enchanting cover of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" works very well in a gypsy swing setting, adding accordionist Rob Berger. This salute by the Hot Club of San Francisco to the style of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France (without slavishly sticking to their repertoire) merits high praise. ~ Ken Dryden

Swing This

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The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Claire De Lune

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:17
Size: 165.5 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz, Swing
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[5:58] 1. Dark Eyes
[5:09] 2. All Of Me
[5:22] 3. Nadja
[4:25] 4. J'attendrai
[5:03] 5. Flambée Montalbanese
[6:36] 6. Claire De Lune
[4:11] 7. Place De Brouckrère
[1:17] 8. Arc En Ciel
[2:10] 9. Souvenir De Villigen
[4:32] 10. James
[8:09] 11. Crève Coeur
[5:23] 12. Till Tom Special
[7:13] 13. Swing 53
[5:04] 14. Tchavolo Swing
[1:36] 15. It's Not Exactly A Sonata For Renata

Recorded live at Filoli Gardens in Woodside, CA on August 20, 2000, this CD contains a dynamic performance by the Hot Club of San Francisco. With a mission to preserve the memory & music of Django Reinhardt's legendary group the Quintette du Hot Club de France, the Hot Club of S.F. has been delighting audiences since 1995. After several personnel changes, the group now consists of founder guitarist/vocalist Paul Mehling, violinist Evan Price, string bassist Joe Kyle, and rhythm guitarists Dave Ricketts & Michael Groh.

Claire De Lune

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The Hot Club Of San Francisco - John Paul George & Django

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:59
Size: 123.6 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[2:37] 1. All My Lovin'
[3:33] 2. Because
[3:35] 3. Michelle
[3:01] 4. I Will
[3:00] 5. Here, There And Everywhere
[3:08] 6. You Won't See Me
[4:00] 7. The Fool On The Hill
[4:19] 8. If I Needed Someone
[3:05] 9. Julia
[4:40] 10. You Can't Do That
[4:26] 11. For No One
[3:48] 12. Dont' Bother Me
[5:35] 13. Hey Jude Duke & Dukie
[3:54] 14. Things We Said Today
[1:13] 15. Yellow Submarine

It was only a matter of time before guitarist Paul Mehling focused his creative mojo on Lennon and McCartney’s vast and enduring treasure trove of songs. The founder and guiding spirit of the Hot Club of San Francisco, America’s longest running Gypsy swing ensemble, Mehling was first inspired to pick up a guitar when the Beatles launched the British Invasion via Ed Sullivan’s CBS variety show on Feb. 9, 1964. Now Mehling’s HCSF is recolonizing the Fab Four’s songbook in the name of Gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt with John, Paul, George and Django, a ravishing and consistently revelatory reimagining of classic Beatles tunes. Slated for release on Mehling’s Hot Club label in September, 2016, the band’s 14th album is designed both to seduce Beatlephiles and enchant Djangologists, with arrangements that serve the songs rather than turning them into vehicles for blazing solos.

“We’ve been road testing arrangements and tune selections for several years and it’s just gold,” Mehling says. “These tunes were really well crafted, and our job is to present the songs through our prism. Our vision can be summed up as WWDD?: What Would Django Do? What if he hadn’t died, and had lived long enough to interpret Beatles songs? Because you know he totally would have.” In many ways, Mehling planted the seeds for the project some two decades ago. On 1994’s Quintet of the Hot Club of San Francisco the band interpreted “And I Love Her,” and a few years later on 1997’s Swing This, Mehling found an ideal conduit for Gypsy soul in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” He wants to make clear that the album’s title isn’t intended to diminish Ringo Starr’s essential contributions, noting that like Ella Fitzgerald interpreting Cole Porter, the album is about “John, Paul, and George as composers.” Their songs have rarely sounded so enthralling. With its psychedelic production and hypnotic 5/4 groove, “Fool On the Hill” feels like Django traded Parisian nightlife for an acid test, a trip he thoroughly enjoyed. With French-born Hot Club rhythm guitarist Isabelle Fontaine’s simmering delivery of her translated lyrics “If I Needed Someone” turns into a Gallic torch song (and check out Mehling’s brilliant interpolation of “Within You Without You” in his solo). “Don’t Bother Me” bounces with a swinging reggae feel, and “You Can’t Do That” gets to Paris via New Orleans with a washboard powered beat. “You Don’t See Me” gets a straight ahead Gypsy swing treatment, and the woozy ballad “Because” turns into a brisk Gypsy jazz sprint.

“We try to keep the kaleidoscope spinning so you don’t know what’s coming next,” Mehling says. “With so many Gypsy jazz records, it’s like okay, we get it! You’re a genius. You can play really fast. We’re looking to create an album that can be played repeatedly.” One reason why the album works so well is that the HCSF is a busy ensemble with thousands of gigs under their belts together. A member of the HCSF since 1998, violinist Evan Price is a highly versatile player who earned top honors as a U.S. Scottish Fiddling Champion before performing with a hot-fiddle who’s who including Stephane Grappelli, Johnny Frigo, Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Johnny Gimble, and Vassar Clements. He spent 10 years in the creative crucible of the seminal Turtle Island String Quartet, touring internationally, collaborating with jazz luminaries like Cuban clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, and pianists Dr. Billy Taylor and Kenny Barron and earning two Grammy Awards for the albums Four + 4 and A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane (both on Telarc).

Though the present lineup has been in place for more than five years, creating John, Paul, George and Django put the band’s copacetic chemistry to the test. “It was very contentious, especially the arranging,” Mehling admits. “Everybody’s got really strong feelings about the Beatles. But I’ve had the band almost 30 years and Evan’s been in it almost 18. We’re all still friends and we worked it out! It took a long time to settle in on the program and then polish the arrangements. We’ve already got a list for volume 2!”

John Paul George & Django

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The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Veronica

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:46
Size: 97.9 MB
Styles: Swing, Gypsy jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[3:34] 1. Veronica
[2:57] 2. I'm Not Impressed
[4:24] 3. Ersatz Samba
[4:06] 4. A Little Waltz For Misha
[3:29] 5. Swing This
[3:51] 6. Don't Panic
[4:00] 7. Yerba Buena Bounce
[6:32] 8. Swing '53
[4:54] 9. Giselle
[4:53] 10. DKST

Paul Mehling - Leader, Guitar; Isabelle Fontaine - Guitar; Evan Price - Violin; Jeff Magidson - Guitar; Sam Rocha - Bass.

Gypsy jazz, which promotes the swinging sounds made popular by guitarist Jean “Django” Reinhardt in 1930s Paris, carries a welcoming aura in each twang and pick of a guitar. Fans are drawn in by its lively rhythm, and Mehling and the crew take the next step in treating each audience member as a friend that they haven’t yet met. “While audiences may or may not be familiar with us, or our genre of music, we hope to establish an interplay and connection with them that they won’t find anywhere else, and which will stay with them.”

The five members of Hot Club take being San Franciscans—and the area’s influences and long list of contributions to the evolution of jazz—very seriously. These ties are evident while listening to their new song, where nods are given to local insider jokes like “vegan/pagan hipsters” and “high-tech chief execs” grooving together at everyone’s favorite urban getaways.

Paul Mehling says he and the rest of Hot Club feel a huge sense of indebtedness to the people in the Bay Area jazz scene that they’ve learned from, been inspired by, and have been a part of for more than 27 years. “We are extremely proud to not only be a part of this artistic tapestry, but we see our role in preserving and pushing it forward as an integral part of our purpose.”

Veronica

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The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Postcards From Gypsyland

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:30
Size: 124.8 MB
Styles: Swing, Gypsy jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[5:52] 1. Not So Fast
[3:41] 2. Spivy
[4:08] 3. La Gitane
[4:07] 4. Waltz Una Nota
[6:21] 5. Alle Presse Con Una Verde Milonga
[4:02] 6. Lover's Leap
[3:59] 7. Il Camino
[4:33] 8. Jonesin'
[4:30] 9. Theme From Gypsyland (Nuages)
[3:07] 10. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunt
[3:04] 11. Song Of India
[4:20] 12. Melodie Au Crepscule
[2:41] 13. Manoir De Mes Reves

Unlike some of the gypsy jazz groups that are around today and very much dedicated to the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, the Hot Club of San Francisco have added quite a few new originals and offbeat material to their repertoire. The quintet/sextet, which differs from the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in its use of two violins on five of the 13 selections, plays tangos, waltzes, and some more modern tunes in addition to Django swing tunes. Guitarist Paul Mehling and violinist Evan Price are the main soloists, but all of the musicians are quite talented. Whether it be the heated "Lover's Leap," the haunting "Alle Prese Son una Verde Milonga," a vocalized version of "Nuages" (renamed "Theme from Gypsyland"), or "Song of India," this CD is a consistent delight that is full of surprising moments and fresh material. ~Scott Yanow

Postcards From Gypsyland

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The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Yerba Buena Bounce

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:42
Size: 148.1 MB
Styles: Gypsy Swing
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:25] 1. Mystery Pacific
[4:25] 2. Hot Lips
[4:40] 3. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
[3:42] 4. Sway
[3:43] 5. Number Two
[3:10] 6. Souvenir De Villingen
[3:38] 7. Tickle Toe
[4:50] 8. Black And White
[3:40] 9. Lullabye
[2:59] 10. Rythme Futur
[3:53] 11. Yerba Buena Bounce
[4:18] 12. Stardust
[5:14] 13. Borneo
[3:26] 14. Georgia Cabin
[3:14] 15. Improvisation #2
[3:10] 16. Going On
[4:08] 17. Some Of These Days

The Hot Club of San Francisco is more than a tribute band re-creating the recordings of Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli and the Quintette du Hot Club de France; the group covers pieces from many different eras never performed by the group which inspired them. On their tenth CD, Yerba Buena Bounce, the Hot Club of San Francisco, which has identical instrumentation to the French group (lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars and a bass), leader Paul Mehling, violinist Evan Price and the rhythm section swing like mad in their updated treatment of the QHCF's speeding locomotive represented by "Mystery Pacific" and the brisk, chugging "Black and White." But they also successfully convert modern pop songs into gypsy swing material, such as the Beatles' ballad "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" (adding Seth Asarnow on bandoneon) and Norman Gimbel's "Sway" (which adds mandolin master David Grisman). Mehling proves himself as a composer as well, contributing the upbeat "Number Two" and the tender "Lullaby" (the latter adding both Asarnow and Grisman). If that's not enough, Mehling adds campy vocals to "Gong Oh" and "Some of These Days." Fans of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli owe it to themselves to investigate these swinging, beautifully recorded sessions by the Hot Club of San Francisco; gypsy swing is very much alive in their hands! ~Ken Dryden

Yerba Buena Bounce

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The Quintet Of The Hot Club Of San Francisco - QHCSF

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:24
Size: 141.4 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz, Swing
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[5:34] 1. Don't Panic
[2:57] 2. Place De Broukere
[4:59] 3. Giselle - Waltz D'Entichement
[4:01] 4. I'm Not Impressed
[4:58] 5. Caravan
[5:13] 6. And I Love Her
[5:33] 7. Round Midnight
[6:11] 8. Jitterbug Waltz
[3:15] 9. Armando's Rumba
[5:16] 10. Manoir De Mes Rêves
[2:33] 11. Flambeé Montalbanaise
[4:04] 12. Melodie Au Crepscule
[3:36] 13. My Walkin' Stick
[3:09] 14. Parfum

Paul Mehling, the leader of HCSF and the man dubbed the godfather of American gypsy jazz, discovered the music of Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in grammar school. Decades later the music that took root in his young soul finally bore fruit.

“I was born in Denver and grew up in what is now Silicon Valley, when it was all fruit trees,” Mehling recalls. “My father was a record collector. I grew up with the music of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller and all the swing era bands. He’d come home and turn on the stereo and, at a year old, I’d sit in front of the speakers and soak up the music. To this day, I get a sense of déjà vu whenever I hear a song I heard back then. When I was older, I became a discipline problem because I wanted to stay up all night and listen to records. Being exposed to swing at and early age predisposed me to playing this kind of music.

“I had an older sister who turned me onto rock’n’roll. When I was six, we saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and it was like getting hit by lightening. I said, ‘I wanna do that - make the girls scream and give people the buzz I get from hearing the music.’ The Beatles made music guitar-centric and I picked up the guitar. I tried playing in rock bands, but it didn’t work for me. The music wasn’t satisfying. I liked the acoustic guitar better and learned classical music, but that wasn’t what I wanted either. Then I heard Django: three guitars, bass, and violin and they sounded and acted like a rock band. I saw pictures of them and they looked sharp, sophisticated and mysterious.

QHCSF