Vintage Guitar November 2003

Los Angeles today bears little relation to the Paris of Django Reinhardt's day. Yet L.A.'s Hot Club Quartette evokes the glory years of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with rare flavor.

The Quartette is led by guitarist Billy Steele and violinist Benny Brydern along with bassist Dave Jones and Tom Marion spicing up the mix with rhythmguitar, banjo, and mandolin. The musicians are all also part of Janet Klein's Parlor Boys Band, featuring naughty, obscure, and lovely tunes from the 1910s through the 1930s. On this album, they have together crafted a tight, smooth ensemble.

Many of today's CDs by Gypsy jazz bands lack cohesiveness, including a broad array of Djangoistic music from all of the master's various styles: A swing tune might be followed by an accordion valse musette, which jumps jarringly into a beboppish theme. These CDs sound like greatest hits collections designed to prove the performers can play the now-tired repertoire.

The Hot Club Quartette, on the other hand, has created a true album in the old, pre-CD sense of the word. This disc features a consistent theme, tone, sound, and style throughout.

The quartette's songlist is a minor-key medley of tunes, including rare QHCF classics such as Fletcher Allen's viper song "Blue Drag," "Billet Deux," "Bouncin' Around," and "I'll See You In My Dreams." Into this mix, they add Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby" played in the style of Orcar Aleman and Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love ?" Mixed with this lineup are originals composed by Steele that hold everything together and make this album unique.

Beyond the repertoire , it's the improvisations that make this Cd sparkle. Benny Brydern is sure and lyrical on his violin while the the rhythm foundation is rock solid.

Steele's guitar work stands out, however. He comes from a blues and rock and roll background and composed and recorded with the likes of Alice Cooper and Steve Perry, among others. Yet Django has long been a fascination for him. He has a gift for solos that meld quotes from the masters - whether it's Django or Aleman - with his own lines. At times his lines are virtuosic displays, at others they are disarmingly simple yet ideal.

This debut album ranks as one of the finest American-made Gypsy Jazz CDs.

MD