About

Hot Club of Saratoga, upstate New York's premier gypsy swing collective, plays a repertoire that reflects the spirit and style originated by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in The Quintet of the Hot Club of France most prominent in the 1930’s and kept alive through a long line of gypsy jazz artists since that time. Most of the tunes we play were either written by, or recorded by, Django at some time in his all too brief musical life.

Though Django is most closely associated with the quintet and with Stephane Grappelli on violin providing the other solo texture, he recorded in various other configurations. He often recorded with a clarinetist in place of Grappelli and his violin, as well as other instrumentals, with big bands, and with on some occasions with small combos with drums as he began to explore amplification and more bebop stylings.

The instrumentation of the full quintet of the Hot Club of Saratoga, solo and rhythm guitars, string bass, violin, and clarinet/sax, allows us to explore this style throughout the range of its roots. Since forming in early 2013, Hot Club of Saratoga has brought the hot swing sound to coffee houses, restaurants, bars, clubs, swing dances, festivals, weddings, and numerous private parties. If you’re looking for gypsy swing true to its origins while subtly expanding the genre, music that just makes you smile and move, give us a listen.

Hot Club of Saratoga Core Members

The unique rhythm style providing both chordal backup and percussive drive called “la pompe”, “the pump”, is maintained under the soloists by Chuck Kish on rhythm guitar. Chuck comes to gypsy jazz from a background of rock organ, folk music with guitar and some dulcimer, and most recently jazz guitar. His "formal training" is restricted to accordion lessons as a kid and guitar lessons at various times in later years after being self taught since college days. In addition to playing, Chuck dabbles in instrument building having built a couple of guitars, including the one he plays in HCS, as well as a hammered dulcimer, numerous mountain dulcimers and kalimbas.

Tucker Callander, a native of the Capital Region, has been performing in the area since he was 10 years old. He attended Syracuse University where he earned a degree in Classical Violin Performance and served as the concertmaster. Go Cuse! After graduating, he began branching out of the classical world and exploring a variety of genres, from bluegrass to jazz to rock. Tucker prides himself on being a versatile musician, being able to sight read and use his ear to adapt to any situation. He has played in front of sold out crowds at the Times Union Center, Turning Stone, Country Fest and Caffe Lena. He currently plays in several groups in the Capital Region and loves to play that fiddle.

Jonathan Greene is an active jazz, world and classical multi-instrumentalist. Most recently, Jonathan had the honor of playing with groups that opened up for Jay Leno at Proctors as well as Marcus Roberts and Anat Cohen at the Troy Music Hall. He has also subbed on clarinet for the Albany and Glens Falls Symphony orchestras. Jonathan's YouTube page now has over 1.35 million views.

Please note that these are our core band members and we make every effort to play with all our core members whenever possible. However, like most bands, we must sometimes substitute players or play in different configurations due to conflicts with regular members other projects and other demands for their talents. Regardless of the players in the night's lineup, you're guaranteed the same high energy gypsy swing.

Artists-in-Residence

As many of you have noticed, our Hot Club family continues to grow as you see the core of the ensemble playing with different talented musicians. Indeed, as we evolve, we move more toward the “club” part of the name, what might be called the Hot Club of Saratoga Collective. You will continue to see the familiar faces of our core members above and the many talented players you often see with us. In addition to that, we are now inviting guest artists to join Hot Club of Saratoga for a residency for a couple of weeks or months at a time. We are excited to welcome some outstanding players from the greater gypsy jazz community that we would otherwise rarely if ever get to play with! And you would otherwise likely not have the opportunity to hear. More information about our Artists-in-Residence can be found here.

You may remember Max from his May 3 appearance at Caffe Lena with Rhythm Future Quartet.

Max O'Rourke
August 14-18 & 27-30, 2019

Vermont born Max O’Rourke made a name for himself as a teenager in the gypsy jazz circuit by playing rhythm guitar for the likes of John Jorgenson, Gonzalo Bergara, and the Rhythm Future Quartet. At nineteen, he was awarded the Djangofest Saga award for outstanding young musicianship. Now at twenty-three years of age, he’s leading bands of his own that cover a broad scope of genres and instrumentation.
"When high-level improvisational skills are married to good melodies and dynamic arrangements like these, the listener is the big winner!" -John Jorgenson

Max will be featured inCaffe Lena's Hot Club Series Show and Jam on August 27
>> Tickets available now: https://nvite.com/caffelena/fdec0<<
(For more information about The Hot Club Series, click here.)

Please help us welcome these talented visiting artists and don't miss a chance to come out to hear them.
During each of their stays, they will most likely be on every Hot Club gig.

The Hot Club of Saratoga Collective Musicians