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Celebrating more than 13 years in existence Pearl Django continues to be one of America’s most respected and
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)
Members:
Neil Andersson, Guitar; Ryan Hoffman , Guitar;
David Lange, Accordion; Michael Gray, Violin;
Rick Leppanen, Bass
Background: (very brief)
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. In June 2002, Pearl Django
performed at the prestigious Festival
Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine, just outside of Paris,
France. As of 2007 Pearl Django is working
as both a quartet and a quintet (with accordionist, David Lange)
All of the members are contributing original
compositions to the band’s expansive repertoire.
They have released 9 CDs to date.
“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.
Discography:
Modern Times—2007
Chasing Shadows— 2005
Swing 48 — 2003
Under Paris Skies — 2002
Avalon – 2000 (over 15,000 copies sold)
Souvenirs – 1999
Mystery Pacific – 1999
New Metropolitan Swing – 1997
Le Jazz Hot – 1995 (out of print)
Contacts:
For Booking Pearl Django:
Michael Gray
4418 – Sixth Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98107
206-781-1862
graywhit@msn.com
For Modern Hot Records:
Rick Leppanen
9247- 34th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98126
tel 206-932-1448,
orders@pearldjango.com
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