Hot Club Arkansas Concert
The Faulkner County Library is excited to debut the band, Hot Club Arkansas, on Thursday, March 4 at 7pm. Hot Club Arkansas is an acoustic swing band that draws its main influence from the European jazz stylings of Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, who, along with violinist Stephane Grappelli, developed a unique jazz sound centered around string instruments — acoustic guitar, violin and upright bass. Their Hot Club Quintet recorded and toured extensively in France and across Europe during the 1930’s, up until the outbreak of World War II. This style of jazz is known interchangeably as Gypsy Jazz, Gypsy Swing, or Hot Club music, its repertory consisting of early jazz and swing standards, as well as melodies developed by Reinhardt and Grappelli themselves.
The band was started by Bill Nesbitt, an acoustic instrumentalist, graphic designer and music teacher, in central Little Rock. He plays mandolin and sings vocal harmonies with the Josh Love Band, an Arkansas-based bluegrass band. But he has been fascinated with the Django style of guitar for several years and could not pass up a chance to try to develop a Hot Club band when the opportunity presented itself.
Also well known in Arkansas bluegrass circles are the Clark Brothers, 16-year-old Harry and his older brother Jed. They have won many accolades and awards individually, as a duet, and as co-leaders of the Clark Brothers Band. Harry contributes his highly improvisational style of mandolin to the HCA mix, a bit of a departure for Hot Club music, which traditionally uses violin or clarinet to solo opposite the guitar. Harry’s expertise on bluegrass mandolin is famous around Arkansas, and he puts it to good use with Hot Club Arkansas.
Jed is a championship-level bluegrass flatpick guitarist, but jumped at the chance to play Gypsy Swing, even agreeing to set aside his guitar in favor of upright bass for this band. Keep in mind, this type of bass work, especially when it comes time for a solo (which is quite often in Jed’s case), is not for the faint of heart, but Jed takes it on with imagination and flair.
Bob Baldridge is the only member of the band currently pursuing music as an academic field of study. He is a music student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is part of the UALR guitar program run by master guitarist and instructor Michael Carenbauer. He is a youngster as well, but as the rhythmic backbone of Hot Club Arkansas, he exhibits knowledge and discipline well beyond his 18 years.
Although Hot Club Arkansas is not made up of full-time “professional musicians,” the passion with which they practice and study this music form is exhibited each time they perform on stage. Their rehearsals typically last a half-day or more, and that is for the full band, not counting the many hours of individual practice each member brings to the plate. Make no mistake, this is a demanding art form — but HCA makes it a fun listen.
So prepare to be entertained, if not a little amazed, when Hot Club Arkansas takes the stage. Hot, indeed.
This concert is free, open to public, and a great family outing. For more information call the Faulkner County Library at 501-327-7482 or email jeanetta@fcl.org.
