Evan Christopher’s Django à la Créole
Django à la Créole is two guitars and double bass weaving sultry rhythms around the soaring clarinet of arguably the current no1 on the instrument, Evan Christopher. The magic comes from the fusion of Gypsy swing with hot rhythms from the streets of New Orleans, the Caribbean and Brazil.
Elegant and impassioned, New Orleans-based clarinettist Evan Christopher's style is steeped in the tradition exemplified by early jazz masters such as Sidney Bechet, Jimmie Noone, and Barney Bigard. Together with UK based guitarists David Blenkhorn & Dave Kelbie, and bassist Sebastien Girardot, the quartet celebrates the music of the legendary Django Reinhardt and enlivens swing-era classics with fresh interpretations and virtuosic improvisations.
Following the success of their debut in 2007 at the Haugesund International Jazz Festival, the released their first CD, Django à la Créole, to much worldwide acclaim.
"[Evan] is, in my estimation, not only the greatest jazz clarinetist alive, but one of the greatest of all time" AHMET ERTEGUN, FOUNDING CHAIRMAN OF ATLANTIC RECORDS
"A forthright sound and a hungry energy" NEW YORK TIMES
"in the history of jazz, he will be amidst the greatest of all times" JAZZ CLASSIQUE
"a remarkably cohesive and constant swing" JAZZMAN
"repertory music of the best kind" WALL ST JOURNAL
"Enchanting" THE SUNDAY OBSERVER
"timeless stuff" THE SUNDAY TIMES
"Christopher's rush of ideas and ardent lyricism brought fresh urgency" HOWARD REICH, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"A clarinetist with a growing reputation in New Orleans and beyond" JON PARELES, NEW YORK TIMES
"In his own deeply personal appreciation of these forebears, he is indeed demonstrating that this New Orleans tradition is still very much alive" NAT HENTOFF, JAZZTIMES MAGAZINE
"Evan Christopher is earthy and passionate, but also elegant and urbane" PAUL DE BARROS, DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE
"Evan illustrates the versatility, adaptability, and flexibility that has always been a hallmark of the Creole approach to the clarinet, while also rendering a personal style that is uniformly ardent, tender, and joyous" BRUCE BOYD RAEBURN - CURATOR OF THE HOGAN JAZZ ARCHIVES, NEW ORLEANS
"Clarinetist Evan Christopher plays with such fire and fearlessness that he makes even the oldest standards sound brand new" SCOTT JORDAN - GAMBIT WEEKLY, TIMES PICAYUNE
"Mr. Christopher makes close-encounter music" NEW YORK TIMES
Tickets: £17, concessions £15