Quintette du Hot Club de France

Nearly 75 years after their last concert, the ensemble that gave France (and Europe) its
most original and significant contribution to the history of jazz is rising from its ashes!
* * *
A spirit. An aesthetic. A sound. This is what the new Quintet of the Hot Club de France
strives to revive in order to extend the creative legacy of its founders. For legends are like
phoenixes: despite attempts to extinguish them, the embers never completely disappear.
Like the Golden Gate Quartet, or the Count Basie Orchestra, the Quintet of the Hot Club
de France still has much to say.
This is essentially the philosophy driving this rebirth: to carry the torch. To carry it not only
in France but also (and especially) abroad because this music is deeply Parisian and
French. Such is the ambition of the new "Quintet of the Hot Club de France": to seek
authenticity in the execution of an aesthetic rather than simply interpreting its classics.
But how did this crazy idea come about? Already recognised experts of 1920s/1930s
swing, the members of this historical renaissance were invited by the Hot Club de France
to perform in concert at an event organised by the illustrious association. Following the
notable release of the album If horses were roses by the Duved’s Prebop Orchestra,
Duved Duyanevsky and Daniel Garlitsky found themselves performing aboard a boat
named Daphné. It's no coincidence: Daphné is the title of one of the first and foremost
compositions by the Grappelli / Reinhardt duo, isn't it?
The new Quintet of the Hot Club de France doesn't merely aim to be an homage or a
cover band. The ensemble offers a personal approach to this true heritage, blending the
demands and respect of classical music with a decidedly hot temperament. A refined
cocktail that defined the original ensemble created in 1934.
By hot understand: fiery swing, commitment, and exhilaration. In other words: a certain
inclination to get bodies moving and spirits galvanised, all while delivering remarkable
precision in execution. Didn't Django Reinhardt once declare: "I was drawn to jazz
because I found in it a perfection of form and instrumental correctness that I admire in
classical music but find lacking in popular music"?
It is with this philosophy that the new Quintet of the Hot Club de France offers, alongside
some essential classics by Reinhardt and Grappelli, a selection of original compositions
and standards from the 1910s to 1940s (cleverly chosen for never having been recorded
by their predecessors), while not shying away from swinging adaptations of classical
repertoire.
There are still many territories to explore: the richness of musical creation between the
wars continues to inspire Duved Dunayevsky and Daniel Garlitsky, who lead their
accomplices in a thorough and enthusiastic exploration of this repertoire.
The guitarist and the violinist have followed paths that started from opposite ends. Duved
Dunayevsky began his musical journey in contemporary genres usually favoured by
young guitarists before being irresistibly drawn to the nobility, refinement, and spontaneity
of pre-war swing played by Django Reinhardt. Since arriving in Paris, he has made it a
complete way of life. Daniel Garlitsky, from a lineage of renowned virtuoso violinists and
educators, is a leading soloist. His already highly accomplished career has seen him play
around the world, engaging in numerous collaborations. Meeting his partner led him away
from classical music to fully embrace jazz and join Duved in their shared passion for the
swing aesthetic of the 1930s. Truly, all roads lead to Rome…
Focusing on the "golden age" of the first Quintet of the Hot Club de France, this
association of aesthetes rallies around a notion as delightfully illusory as it is exciting:
imagining what Reinhardt and Grappelli might have continued to develop if World War II
and the Be-Bop revolution had never occurred.
Therefore, listening to the new Quintet of the Hot Club de France in concert constitutes a
complete artistic and historical experience: if you have the chance to hear them in a
refined setting, whether Art Nouveau or Art Deco, you will have your very own "Midnight
in Paris." Or why not "Midnight in Tokyo" or "Midnight in London" since the members of
the Quintette regularly traverse the oceans: undoubtedly, their reputation as experts of the
1920s/1930s repertoire will precede them on future tours.