Taking place at The Shedd Institute in downtown Eugene, The Oregon Festival of American Music celebrates noteworthy music through a series of lectures, films, and live musical performances.
This winter edition of the festival is titled "I Love Paris: The French Connection" and takes place from January 21st through January 25th.
KLCC has a longstanding tradition of broadcasting the opening night concert live and we're pleased to bring this year's concert to you at 7:30pm on Wednesday, January 21. A pre-show to settle you in starts at 7:00pm
From The Shedd Institute in Eugene:
The Quintette du Hot Club de France emerged in 1933 from a series of backstage entre-acte jam sessions at Le Claridge on the Champs-Élysées. The group was formed by four members of the club’s house band: Romani jazz guitar innovator Django Reinhardt, Parisian jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, rhythm guitarist Roger Chaput and bassist Louis Vola.
Concert promoters Pierre Nourry and Charles Delaunay, co-founders with Hugues Panassié of the French jazz society Le Hot Club de France, recognized the group’s potential and encouraged its development. They persuaded the new record label Ultraphon to record the ensemble, helping give rise to gypsy jazz, France’s singular contribution to the jazz tradition.
Reinhardt and Grappelli parted ways in 1939 as World War II approached. They reunited briefly in 1946 and made their final recordings together in Italy in 1949.
Chuck Redd and the festival jazz unit, featuring guitarists Howard Alden and Randy Napoleon, welcome jazz violinist Eddie Parente for a celebration of the Quintette’s most enduring work. The program also includes a special exploration of how the group might have sounded with vocalists and vibraphone, featuring Vanessa Greenway and Michael Stone.
