Gypsy jazz musicians from around Puget Sound will celebrate Django Reinhardt’s 107th birthday with an evening of music. The party will be hosted by two bands, Hot Club of Seattle and Ranger and the ‘Re-Arrangers’. Other top Seattle Gypsy Jazz musicians will make guest appearances. Django was an itinerant Gypsy who earned international acclaim in the 1930’s. Many of his compositions became jazz classics and he is considered one of the top guitar soloists of all time. Duke Ellington referred to Django as “the most creative jazz musician to originate anywhere outside the United States.” Decades later, Jerry Garcia said, “Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at…nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django had.” Hot Club of Seattle is led by guitarist/singer Jim Char and features a blend of Django tunes, ballads, latin, and swing jazz from the Great American Songbook. Ranger and the ‘Re-Arrangers’ feature violinist Ranger Sciacca. In September, they performed at Djangofest Northwest. Says Sciacca: “Our goal is to make this a really fun show, featuring as many great Gypsy jazz players as we can.” There is no cover charge, but donations will be accepted.