Hot Club of Detroit (L-R) Ivan Peña, rhythm guitar; Evan Perri, founder and lead guitar; Jordan Schug, bass; and Julien Labro, Button AccordionAccordina (Photo – ©Arlene Karno)
On Sunday, August 10, the Hot Club of Detroit wowed the audience at the Levitt Pavilion with their absolute mastery of their craft.
They seemed to bend time and melodic space with their musical wizardry, particularly of the founder/lead guitar/composer, Evan Perri and button accordion player/composer, Julien Labro.
Their band is based on the music of Django Reinhardt but is unique in that it does not include a drummer. Thus, the other instruments serve the role of the percussionist through imaginative means. The line up on Sunday night was slightly paired down from their recordings, leaving out the sax and including two guitars, upright bass, and accordion. Julien also played the little-known and highly-expressive instrument, the accordina, a sort of blend between an accordion and a harmonica.
I sat down with Evan and Julien after the show.
Tell me about your compositional process:
Evan:
We write a lot in hotel rooms. I’ll come up with an idea and be like, ‘Julien come over here.’ And then we’ll collaborate… We all live in different cities now, so most of our rehearsing happens on the road.
Julien:
We also exchange files through the internet. Like, he’ll record something and send it over to me using Garage Band. Then, I’ll put some ideas on it and send it back. Once we get our stuff together, then we bring the other guys in and make the whole thing work. Like the song we played tonight, ‘New Tune’—Evan came up with the groove and chords, and then I came up with the bridge. We did this in Dayton, Ohio. Often we will work out a tune in a hotel room and then be like, ‘Let’s try that tonight.’
What are your thoughts on why Gypsy jazz seems to be so popular right now?
Evan:
The resurgence is starting to teeter out… Maybe it’s just that so many people are hearing it that it doesn’t seem fresh anymore… We’ve never really had to compete with other hot clubs [bands based on the music of Django Reinhardt] because we do a completely different thing.
Julien:
Yeah, we just try to play music… We have our own DNA as far as sound… And writing for the band with the members in mind always helps to just be different because all of the sudden you put your musicality into it—your musicianship is also inside the compositions. I think that helps to set you apart from someone who is covering Django Rheinhardt, and we are always improvising. So, who knows what direction things are going to go.
Here is one of the time-bending tunes from the show, “For Stéphane” by Evan and Julien. Check out their website here.
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