Twin Cities Hot Club?

AndrewUlle

I was looking for regional gypsy jazz bands (we only have one in Cleveland), and stumbled upon Twin Cities Hot Club's web site. Out of the several groups (Hot Club of ___) I found in the US featuring gypsy jazz, they look pretty good - has anyone seen them live?

Some of the bands I found weren't really up to snuff, not even on the level of European buskers. I was looking to hire a group for a summer event, but I can't afford to bring Bireli to Cleveland, unfortunately. These guys in Minnesota sound pretty genuine.

http://www.twincitieshotclub.com/

Barkonator

Hi Andrew,

There are a few bands that I know of in the Cleveland/Akron area. One is called Hot Djang, and the other is called Moustache Yourself.

I haven't heard much from Hot Djang, but I have seen Moustache Yourself perform once at the Art in the Park festival in Kent. Apart from their unfortunate name...they are pretty solid, but I am not sure that they will capture the genuine sound you are looking for.

If you do end up bringing Bireli (or anyone else for that matter!) to Cleveland let me know!!

http://moustache-yourself.com/

Russell Letson

One of the interesting features of the Twin Cities GJ scene is the overlap among and between bands--there's a lot of mix-and-match. As a result, I'm not sure exactly who's in the TCHC at the moment. It's Robert-Bell-centric, and I see that their photo includes ace fiddler Gary Schulte. Gary also plays with Reynold Philipsek, and they both play with Gypsy Mania, which is fronted by Glenn Helgeson but is otherwise a lot like Sidewalk Cafe Trio, which is the Hot Club cousin of Reynold's East Side (more straight jazz), and--well you get the picture. (And this doesn't include what happens when Sammo Miltich comes down from Grand Rapids. . . .)

So there are plenty of Twin Cities players to choose from. But (not to be disloyal to my home state) closer to Cleveland there's the very fine Hot Club of Detroit. And I take it you're familiar with the Chicago scene, which includes the excellent Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan.

lacrossehotclub

Also in the Twin Cities GJ community is the Café Accordion Orchestra (with Dan Newton and Robert Bell). Nearby in Northfield is home to Ile du Berceau led by Martha Larson on cello. Martha hosts a jam session, if you're within striking distance it's worth checking out.

ileduberceau.com/blog/2014/5/24/2014-northfield-gypsy-jazz-jam-series-kick-off