Traveling the world with their unique, high-energy performances, the Django Festival All-Stars pay tribute to the style of Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), one of the greatest guitar players of all time and the first European jazz musician to make major contributions to the development of the guitar genre. His driving, swinging style became known as “hot jazz” and it continues to grow in popularity globally. The Django All-Stars honor the best energetic traditions of this French Gypsy Jazz, but add their own creative interpretations, arrangements, and original compositions, all with the stunning virtuosity typical of these highly regarded players.
-Vail Jazz

Django Reinhardt’s original jazz inspiration was Louis Armstrong, and his closest American counterpart was Art Tatum. Like both, Reinhardt’s greatest gift was turning sheer virtuosity into exuberant showmanship. It wasn’t just that he could leave a crowd breathless with a dazzling run along the guitar neck, but that his remarkable sense of composition and context could command an audience’s attention. Like Armstrong, Django held the crowd like a magnet; now imagine a stage filled with six contemporary Reinhardt descendants, and you’ll get a sense that the collective talent pool on the bandstand is larger than the Arc de Triomphe.

 

 Before the show, enjoy dinner at Strings Café. Reservations are required: