Photos and Words by NOTES FROM VIVACE
The Hot Club of Los Angeles, a Gypsy jazz ensemble, continues to celebrate a decade-long Monday night residency at the Cinema Bar in Culver City.
“A 10-year residency is an achievement anywhere, so it feels good,” accordion player Carl Byron said between lively sets.
Gypsy Jazz is a style of music started in the 1930s by Jean “Django” Reinhardt, the Romani guitarist, and Stephane Grappelli the French-Italian jazz violinist with their group Quintette du Hot Club de France. Well, The Hot Club of Los Angeles pays the creators great homage and brings the genre to current-day music lovers.
From the size of the crowd at the “cozy” bar, one has to think the ensemble can go another decade for sure. Those in attendance comprised a nice mix of the young and young at heart. There was cheering at choice moments throughout the first set and even a few couples took to the dance floor.
The Hot Club of Los Angeles has its share of fans. A Ph.D. student at UCLA was in the crowd and said with a sense of nostalgia that he loves this type of jazz as it reminds him of the time he spent in Europe. He mentioned that this style of music is especially appreciated in Europe and that his European friends love catching this band.
But The Hot Club of Los Angeles has a wide range of fans. Byron gave some insight on that topic as we asked, “What’s a favorite memory of yours?”
“The first time Jackson Browne sat in with us,” Byron said. “It is always special when he comes down and joins us; but the very first time was particularly special, because it was pretty spontaneous and we hadn’t rehearsed anything. We set up and got him a microphone and we did a few songs with him at the spur of the moment. It was quite something. We met him two weeks prior and he really liked us and is a big Gypsy jazz fan. We got in touch at some point during those two intervening weeks and told him that he could sit in with us and that’s kind of how we left it. When that Monday came we wondered if it was possible that he’d show up. We were setting up and he came around the corner at the front entrance, carrying an amp and guitar. He said, ‘Hey guys, can I set up here?'”
On a recent night at the Cinema Bar, particular night, the band had two other musicians sit in for members who weren’t able to make the night. One of those musicians was Ted Russell Kamp who is a familiar face to those in Los Angeles who love Americana music. Towards the end of the first session, he played two of his own songs with the rest of the band backing him up. One of his selections was a jazz piece that he wrote when he was in his mid-20s. He told the audience that he started out as a jazz musician before switching over to a new style of music.
If you want to catch some jazz tunes that just might nudge you over to the dance floor, the band’s Monday residency is split into two sets. The first goes for 1.5 hours and starts at 9 p.m. (give or take a few minutes) while the second is 45 minutes starting at 10:45 p.m. You never know who might show up. One of those surprise guests just might just be Jackson Browne.
