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Since 1994 Pearl Django continues to be one of America's busiest Hot Club style groups. Their music reaches out across the divides of taste to a wide variety of audiences. The band's fervent followers include Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli fans, guitar enthusiasts (and guitarists!), lovers of string music, including bluegrass devotees, who relish nimble, clean, intricate picking, "world music" fans drawn to French and Gypsy accents, plus jazz buffs and aficionados of the new swing music. Transcending simple categorization, Pearl Django packs in enthusiastic audiences at dancehalls and nightclubs, at folk music festivals and jazz festivals alike.
Voted favorite area jazz band 2003,
by Seattle Weekly readers!
"Pearl Django play(s) gypsy jazz. . .and they do it with such verve, skill and pleasure that
they're pretty much irresistible to jazz and non-jazz listeners alike."
- Seattle Weekly
"Pearl Django: The gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt done to perfection!" - Paul de Barros, The Seattle Times (2002)
Background:
The group's inception was as a trio in Tacoma, Washington in 1994. The focus of Pearl Django was, and is, to incorporate the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with American swing music. They quickly expanded to a quintet, adding a violinist and a third guitarist. An interview on NPR's All Things Considered in 2001 brought the group to national attention. Currently Pearl Django is working as a quintet. All of the members are contributing original compositions to the band's expansive repertoire. They have released 9 CDs to date. In June 2002, Pearl Django performed at the prestigious Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine, just outside of Paris, France.
"If Paris is the city of love, then Pearl Django's music is the flirtatious accompaniment."
- 6Moons.com (review of Under Paris Skies)
Performance Highlights:
Along the West coast, Pearl Django has performed from Los Angeles to Fairbanks. Festival performances include: Festival Django Reinhardt, Samois sur Seine, France; les Rendez-Vous de l'Erdre, Nantes, France; Sacramento Jazz Jubilee; Django Festival Iceland; Django Fest Northwest, Whidbey Island, Washington; Django Fest LA, Laguna Beach, California; Django Fest SF, Redwood City, California; Juneau Folk Festival, Juneau, Alaska; Capital City Jazz Festival, Madison, Wisconsin; Sweet and Hot Festival, Los Angeles, California; Great Connecticut Jazz Festival, Guilford, Connecticut; Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Aberdeen, Washington; Mission Folk Festival, Mission B.C.; Bumbershoot & Folklife Festival, Seattle, Washington; Wintergrass (a bluegrass festival) Tacoma, Washington, Jazz Alley, Seattle, Washington; Sun Valley Jazz Jubilee, Sun Valley, Idaho.
Listen to an MP3 sample:
![[Pearl Django]](PearlDjango08.jpg)
