Live gypsy jazz from 1930s Paris bals musettes, hot, sultry and swinging.
Hot Club of Stonehouse play 62 Ebrington Street on Saturday 18 July, bringing a specific kind of old-school swing to Plymouth. The set is built around gypsy jazz from 1930s Paris, the sort of music that grew out of the city's bals musettes — the dance halls where the accordion and guitar took centre stage.
If you're not familiar with the bal musette tradition, it's a good place to start for understanding the sound. It was the dance music of working-class Paris in the early twentieth century, and by the thirties it had merged with the hot jazz coming over from America. The result is exactly what the name suggests: gypsy jazz, with its driving rhythms, virtuosic guitar work, and a certain street-level energy that doesn't quite fit into a concert hall. It's music made for dancing, not for sitting still.
That's the spirit they're bringing to the night, too. They describe their sound as hot, sultry and swinging, and the whole thing is rooted in that particular Parisian era. It's a distinct corner of jazz — more about the dance floor than the jazz club — and it works best when it's played live, in a room where you can actually hear the strings working. If you've ever wanted to get a feel for that side of the tradition without having to book a flight to France, this is a straightforward way to do it.
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It's all happening at 62 Ebrington Street on Saturday 18 July, with Hot Club of Stonehouse as the main feature. The music is live gypsy jazz from the 1930s Paris bals musettes — hot, sultry and swinging.
