Django Reinhardt

Hailing from Ireland, violinist David MacKenzie and pianist Josh Johnston release "Notes Home,"their second album together and follow up to their 2004 recording of "A Minor Happiness," essentially a concept album and duet of violin and piano. Unlike their first meeting, the duo enlist help from fellow countrymen guitarist Stephen McFarlane, bassist Andrew Csibi and percussionist Robbie Harris adding a bit more texture to the music. There are thirteen originals of light mellow and ballad-like pieces some drawing inspiration from the music Frenchman Stephane Grapelli and Joe Venuti, considered the father of the jazz violin. Read More

At this point in a musical career that stretches all the way back to the early 1960s, Dan Hicks doesn't have a heck of a lot to prove. Read More

October 2009 Musician of the Month Brian Pavone is an eighth grader at Lynbrook North Middle School and has been playing the drums since he was five years old. Read More

"Silent Surrealism" is an old-fashioned, multimedia show, featuring live gypsy jazz music by the Hot Club of San Francisco and a series of short silent films. Read More

A lot of guitar players talk about Django Reinhardt (1910–1953) as a major influence. Read More

Here is a Christmas recording offering something a bit different and worth listening to in the midst of the season. Read More

Forget the daily worries, and begin to wear a big fat smile! Read More

Frank Vignola reminisced about the first time he heard guitar great Django Reinhardt. Read More

Those who attended Peabody's Charity Wine Expo last year heard Asheville-based One Leg Up perform, and attendees of "the social event of the year" this Saturday will receive another, even better dose of the group's gypsy jazz. Read More

When the Squirrel Nut Zippers emerged from Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the mid-'90s as the unwilling face of the swing revival, they also found themselves at the center of a debate between fans, who found the band's take on '20s and '30s hot jazz to be refreshing, and purists, who considered the Zippers' music a ham-handed travesty. Read More