The John Jorgenson Quintet is an American

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane Gr ...

band led by guitarist

John Jorgenson John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel gu ...

, a pioneer of the American gypsy jazz movement. The band was formed in 2004 for the release of ''Franco-American Swing''. Members include jazz violinist

Jason Anick Jason Anick (born October 3, 1985, Framingham, Massachusetts) is an American jazz violinist, mandolin player and composer. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and teaches at the Berklee College of Music. Early life Anick started clas ...

, rhythm guitarist Doug Martin, bassist Simon Planting, and percussionist Rick Reed.

Gypsy jazz

The quintet performs gypsy jazz, a style of music made famous by French guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

. The quintet recreated the music of Reinhardt for the films ''

Gattaca ''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin ap ...

'' and '' Head in the Clouds''. In ''Head in the Clouds'', John Jorgenson portrayed Reinhardt.

Members

John Jorgenson, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning guitarist, is the band's lead instrumentalist. Jorgenson plays the guitar and clarinet. Doug Martin was born in California. A San Francisco native, Martin has been playing guitar since age 12. He studied with guitarist Allen J. Brown, pianist Charles "Gus" Gustavson, jazz guitarist Warren Nunes, and classical guitarist Charles Ferguson before he joined the John Jorgenson Quintet in 2009. Jason Anick is a graduate of

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

and the Hartt School where he studied acoustical engineering and jazz violin. Simon Planting studied jazz and improvised music at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. In 2009, Planting jointed the John Jorgenson Quintet and is re-united with Kevin Nolan. Rick Reed, from

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

, plays percussion with the band. Former members include Kevin Nolan, Gonzalo Bergara, Stephen Dudash, Cesare Valbusa, and Charlie Chadwick. Guitarist Bergara plays both blues and gypsy jazz. Dudash plays guitar, bass, congas and mandolin in addition to the five-string viola. Valbusa plays drums, and Chadwick plays double bass.

Discography

* ''After You've Gone'' (

Curb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...

, 1988) * ''Franco-American Swing'' (Pharaoh, 2004) * ''Ultraspontane'' (Pharaoh/J2, 2007) * ''One Stolen Night'' (Pharaoh/J2, 2010 * ''Istiqbal Gathering'' (Pharaoh/J2, 2010)

References

{{authority control American jazz ensembles