Deanna Knight and the Hot Club of Mars are on their way to Parksville to pay tribute to the jazz legend Django Reinhardt.
Reinhardt was a guitarist who became famous in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s for his unique style of jazz music.
“He was the grandfather of gypsy jazz. He basically invented gypsy jazz,” said Knight, who has been chanteuse for the band since 2002. “People who know Django love Django.”
The concert at Knox United Church on April 25 will be a reunion show after Knight's two-year hiatus, spent working on a solo album called Every Little Spark.
The band also includes Don Kellet, Joe Bouchier, Mark Dowding, Tom Neville and Michael Dunn — a world-renowned luthier and B.C.'s “grand daddy of gypsy jazz”.
Reinhardt's famous band, the Hot Club of France, inspired numerous "hot clubs" all over the world, playing their own take on gypsy jazz and gypsy swing to this very day.
His music can be recognized for the way it "chugs", according to Knight.
“Everything kind of chugs along and it’s very happy, upbeat, danceable music,” she added.
Reinhardt spent his youth travelling through France and Belgium, where he learned to play the violin, guitar and banjo. A fire left him without the use of two fingers on his left hand, but the injury did little to hinder his talent for the guitar. In 1934, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France. One major influence he made on jazz was to improvise his solos at a time when guitarists mostly played chorded solos, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The band's repertoire goes beyond swing, and includes bossa, tango, waltz, contemporary and chosen originals.
The Vancouver-based Hot Club of Mars will play second, after an opening set by String Fever, which features Neville (violin), Alan Medcalf (guitar), Michael Anderson (guitar and keys) and Kosma Busheikin (bass).
String Fever is a four piece acoustic string ensemble that plays a combination of European and North American music influenced by popular, jazz, folk and other traditions.
The music starts at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Knox United Church is located at 345 Pym St.
Tickets are $35 and are available online through Eventbrite and with cash at local retailers Close to You Boutique (Parksville), Edge Outdoors (Qualicum Beach) and Fireside Books (Parksville).
