Back in the 1930’s and 1940’s, a Belgian born gypsy guitarist by the name of Django Reinhardt developed his own style of swing music, fusing elements of American jazz with indigenous French and gypsy styles. Django’s music has emerged in recent months. Movies such as Chocolat by Lasse Hallstrom and Sweet and Lowdown by Woody Allen pay tribute to Django and his music. What has come to be called "gypsy jazz" is still considered Europe’s greatest contribution to jazz. Gypsy Jazz Festivals worldwide pay homage to Django and the style he created, featuring established artists as well as the virtuosity of the "young lions." Club Django is considered Southern California’s foremost proponent of this exciting music.

Club Django consists of four talented and versatile musicians who have come together to reproduce this lively and entertaining style of jazz. Club Django has sought to recreate the original instrumentation and sound of Django’s famous Quintet of the Hot Club of Paris with the incorporation of Selmer-style guitars (reproductions of Django’s actual instrument) bass and violin (originally played by the fantastic Stephane Grappelli). However, Club Django not only pays tribute to their roots in Django’s music, but also adds their own touches by incorporating the members’ backgrounds in other musical styles, such as blues, jump, and modern jazz and classical music. Club Django’s repertoire includes many selections taken directly from the Reinhardt library, but they also include songs from the modern greats of gypsy jazz such as Stochelo Rosenberg and Angelo Debarre.

The members of Club Django are:

Guitarist Don King, the founder of Club Django, has performed and recorded with many of Southern California's leading blues and R&B bands. He is also featured on several recordings on the avant-garde label Roughedge Records. Don specializes in the verbatim transcription and performance of works by Django Reinhardt and other great gypsy guitarists and has published Valses Manouches, a book of eleven gypsy waltz transcriptions. Don is responsible for most of Club Django’s arrangements. In addition to his Club Django duties, Don played guitar in the 2006 Pageant of the Masters orchestra. With his broad-based Hendrix inspired style, Don has lead blues bands such as; "Hurricane Blues", "XLA" (the remnant group of "Lost Angeles", and his current project "Maverick Muse". He is responsible for Maverick Muse's arrangements & original songs. Don also writes original scores for local film studios.

Dr. Joe Jewell is in demand throughout Southern California as both a classical and jazz guitarist. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and has been featured at prestigious chamber music festivals such as the Ojai Festival, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival and the La Jolla Summerfest. Joe received his Doctorate in Jazz Guitar from University of Southern California where his final project was on the early recordings of Django Reinhardt. Joe is a tenured professor of Commercial Music Studies at Fullerton College.

Benedikt Brydern is an award-winning composer and performer whose scores have been featured in films, television shows and on concert stages both in the United Sates and internationally. Having been a violin child protégé since the age of 6, Brydern holds a masters degree in music and performs regularly with local symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles. He has concertized and recorded with Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti, Etta James, Sinead O’Connor, and many others. He specializes in music from the 20s and 1930s, performing with Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys, The Hot Club Quartette and the Johnny Crawford Dance Band.

Bassist Roger Shew holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Washington State University and a Master's degree in Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University. He has studied under such acclaimed musicians as Rufus Reid, Tom Knific, Billy Hart, Darek Oles and Robert Hurst. In 2001, Roger placed 3rd at the prestigious International Society of Bassists International Jazz Bass Competition. Roger has performed across the southland with musicians Joe Bagg, Matt Otto, Bill Cunliffe, Josh Nelson, Stacy Rowles, Les Hooper, Evan Stone, Jeff Elwood, Bruce Babad, Joe Jewell, Goldberg/Allen Project and most recently the collective "BUG" featuring Peter Epstein and James Miley. Through travels across the country, he has also had the opportunity to perform with The New York Voices, Sunny Wilkinson, Billy Hart, Bob Brookmeyer, John Abercrombie, Kenny Werner and Dominique Eade.

Prominent Club Django appearances have included the premiere concert in the Guitarra Del Mar Guitar Series in Pasadena, CA and being invited to perform and lecture on the music of Django Reinhardt at the Jazz Guitar Festival at the State University of New York at Oswego. Club Django has also performed for the Whittier College Guitar Series and for Boatman/Summers Presents. Club Django has regularly been thrilling crowds at such noteworthy Southern California establishments as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pasadena, The Renaissance at Dana Point, and La Creperie in Long Beach. Their first CD release is in the works.

An evening of music with Club Django will be highly entertaining while maintaining a very high artistic aesthetic. We know that you will enjoy Club Django’s sophisticated and entertaining music, a style that honors the past while pushing the envelope at the same time.

For more information please contact Don King via email at DKING118@earthlink.net.

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