FESTIVAL LOUNGE

All roads lead to the Festival Lounge! Meet and mingle with the artists, join or listen to the djam sessions, lift a glass at the bar, and enjoy!

We will also ensure access with a free outdoor Happy Hour each day of the festival featuring access to the vendor room and sound check/warm ups for individuals with or without a ticket to the festival.

Location: Whidbey Island Center for the Arts

Hours: 5pm - 10 pm

Schedule:

September 20, 2023

Wednesday

5:30pm - 7:00pm:

- DFNW Kick Off Party featuring Cafe Impromptu

- We're kicking off the festival with a party!

- Music and food out on the patio. Food and Drink available!

- Open to the Public:  Free to attend

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM - Marc Atkinson 4

- Scott White (Bass), Jody Rutherford (Guitar), Cameron Wilson (Violin)

Marc Atkinson is one of Canada's finest JUNO-nominated, Western Canadian award-winning musicians. HIs latest CD of solo guitar entitled ‘Solo’ won best instrumental album of the year with CFMA. He is the leader and composer of the internationally renowned Marc Atkinson Trio (and co-founder, composer and performer in the acclaimed, The Bills). The music of this virtuosic group is melodically captivating, sensually charged and ferociously, technically awe-inspiring. Embracing a lifetime of musical influences, The Trio, formed in 2000, has toured North America, England and Europe and has received standing ovations everywhere they perform from the Montreal Jazz Festival to the Vancouver International Folk Festival to DjangoFest Northwest.

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September 21, 2023

7:30 PM - 9:30 - PMRhythm Future

- Jason Anick (Violin), Max O’Rourke (Guitar), Henry Acker (Guitar), & Greg Lougman (Bass)

When four young jazz virtuosos decided to join forces, the Rhythm Future Quartet was born. Named after a Django Reinhardt tune, the Rhythm Future Quartet performs dynamic and fiery arrangements of Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions.

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September 22, 2023

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Bistro String Trio
- Michael Gray, Julien Smedley, & James Hinkley

The sheer joy of improvisation inherent in the Trio’s DNA is what makes the BST unique. Both Michael and Julian are melodic improvisors par excellence; Michael with his 25 plus years in Pearl Django; Julian through his association with the Hot Club of SF and a 30 year career in composing and performing jazz classics; and James, who is equally at home playing the Korngold cello concerto as he is with soloing and arranging jazz standards.

Drawing as much from the yearning freedom of Wayne Shorter and the rhythmic intensity of American Fiddle tunes, and of course with a nod to Django and Stephane, the WBST performs their original compositions and reimagining’s of the American canon with precise string technique elbow to elbow with incandescent melodic soloing. Enjoy!”

Pino Noir with Luca Pino, featuring Eric Vanderbilt Mathews

Pino Noir is a red-hot electric gypsy jazz quartet, led by Los Angeles born guitarist Luca Pino. This fiery quartet brings unique and inspired arrangements of music by Django Reinhardt, with unbridled sound and style. These young musicians expertly brew a cutting combination of bebop and swing, all the while maintaining an authentic identity in the gypsy jazz style of the 30's and 40's

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7:30 PM - 9:30 PM - Duved Dunayevsky 4, with Daniel Garlitsky (Rhythm Guitar, Bass)

Duved Dunayevsky is a Paris-based guitarist, composer and band leader. He is recognized by many as the foremost interpreter of Django Reinhardt’s 1930s guitar style. Currently leading the experimental “Prebop Orchestra” and the “Hot-Club” style ensemble “Duved And His Transatlantic Five”.
Duved regularly performs in jazz festivals around the globe, keeping traditional jazz alive not by preserving it but by continuing to expand on its creative legacy. With his acolyte Daniel Garlitsky on violin, they form a duo that captures the very essence of the duo Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt.

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September 23, 2023

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Nuages (opening)
- Michael-Paul Gurule (Vocals, Sax), Nick Sokol (Mandolin, Tenor Sax), Marceline Keene (Guitar), Sarah Yates (Bass)

Nuages, a modern jazz Manouche ensemble inspired by Django Reinhardt, blends Manouche jazz with traditional American jazz, Brazilian samba, Argentinian tango, French chanson, and other incredible global sounds.  Listeners are treated to a warm and engaging journey of high-level musicianship with a range of artistic expression. Nuages has enjoyed over a decade of performance and recording.  They have performed twice at the Djangofest Northwest Festival, as well as several concerts and events throughout Northwest Washington.

Hot Club of Troy, with Keegan Harshman (Bass), Grant Neubauer (Piano), Mickey Grimm (Drums), & Troy Chapman (Guitar)

The Hot Club of Troy are very happy to be returning to the WICA’s Michael Nutt stage for DFNW 2023! Guitarist and eponymous group  leader, Troy Chapman will be joined on stage by some of Whidbey’s (and the Pacific NW’s) most brilliant musicians, including: Grant Neubauer on piano, Keegan Harshman on bass, and Mickey Grimm on drums, and special guests. An absolutely beautiful and exciting afternoon of music, inspired by and honoring the immortal Django, lies in store for Djangofest fans of all ages!

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7:30 PM - 9:30 PM - Paulus Schäfer Quartet

- featuring DFNW favorites and world class musicians Tim Kliphuis, Jimmy Grant, & Simon Planting

Regarded as Gypsy Jazz royalty, Paulus Schäfer is known globally as one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation. The Dutch Sinti Gypsy is one of a small handful of contemporary world class guitarists bringing the musical style first played by his forefather, the great Django Reinhardt to the international jazz stage. Simply put, Paulus is a true master currently defining the modern sound of gypsy jazz, expect to be blown away by his staggering virtuosity and beautifully lyrical guitar playing, a must for lovers of real acoustic music.

Award-winning Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis has created a brand new style that embraces classical, gypsy jazz and folk. Hailed as a ‘current-day improvising Paganini’, his inclusive and innovative approach to music has united audiences and is influencing a new generation of string players.

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September 24, 2023

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Bina Coquet 3, with Simon Planting

Bina Coquet plays a unique version of the Manouche Jazz, which emerged in France in the 1930s, mixed with Brazilian music and his own compositions. Coquet is the first Brazilian to play this style outside the country in festivals specialized in the genre.

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6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Trio Rasa featuring Troy Chapman- Reinhardt Refracted

- Join classical Trio RASA & guitarist Troy Chapman as we explore the many shades of Django, including music that inspired his aspirations as a composer. Hear both well-known Django tunes as well as some of his more seldom-performed pieces paired--like fine wine--with music by Claude Debussy, Amy Beach, Germaine Tailleferre (& more!). We'll also share a ghazal by the great Mehdi Hassan, born in pre-partition Rajasthan--the land where the Romani peoples originated. Like light passed through a prism, come experience the many colors of Django Reinhardt!

The Nick Lehr Memorial Festival Performer Djam, curated by Simon Planting

Simon Planting is the DjangoFest NW Artistic Director - the Dutch double bassist lives near San Francisco, but studied Classical bass with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Jazz at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam before embarking on a professional career. He has performed in concerts and festivals the world over, and has compiled an impressive discography with artists like Mathilde Santing, Fapy Lafertin, Jimmy Rosenberg, Stephane Wrembel, and John Jorgenson.

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Date: September 20 - 24, 2023

Venue: Whidbey Island Center for the Arts - 565 Camano Avenue Langley, WA 98260

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