John Jorgenson Quintet
Encyclopedia
The John Jorgenson Quintet is an American gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s. Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources...

 band featuring guitarist John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson is a US musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, Jorgenson is also proficient in the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone...

, a pioneer of the American gypsy jazz movement. The ensemble was originally formed in 2004 for the release of "Franco-American Swing".

The current band members playing along with John Jorgenson are jazz violinist Jason Anick, rhythm guitarist Doug Martin, bassist Simon Planting, and percussionist Rick Reed. The quintet tours worldwide playing gypsy jazz.

Gypsy jazz

The John Jorgenson Quintet performs gypsy jazz, a style of music made famous by French guitarist Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...

. The quintet recreates the music of Reinhardt for the films Gattaca
Gattaca
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin....

and Head in the Clouds
Head in the Clouds
Head in the Clouds is a 2004 drama film written and directed by John Duigan. The original screenplay focuses on the choices young lovers must make as they find themselves surrounded by increasing political unrest in late-1930s Europe.-Plot synopsis:...

. In Head in the Clouds, John Jorgenson portrays Reinhardt on camera.

Jorgenson has recorded five albums of Gypsy Jazz and related music: "After You've Gone" (Curb Records, 1988), "Franco-American Swing" (2004, Pharaoh Records), "Ultraspontane" (2007, Pharaoh Records/J2 Records), "One Stolen Night" (2010, Pharaoh Records/J2 Records) and "Istiqbal Gathering"
(2010, Pharaoh Records/J2 Records).

Current band members

The jazz ensemble members are lead guitarist John Jorgenson; Doug Martin, rhythm guitarist; Jason Anick, a jazz violinist; Simon Planting, a bassist; and Rick Reed, a percussionist.

John Jorgenson, a Grammy award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning guitarist, is the band's lead instrumentalist. Jorgenson plays the guitar and clarinet.

Doug Martin was born in California. He currently resides between San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 and Shanghai, China. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Doug Martin, has been playing guitar since age 12. Martin studied with guitarist Allen J. Brown, pianist Charles "Gus" Gustavson, jazz guitarist Warren Nunes, and well known classical guitarist Charles Ferguson before he joined the John Jorgenson Quintet in 2009.

Jason Anick is a graduate of University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...

 in 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, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...

, plays percussion with the band.

Previous band members

Previously, the band has included 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 the upright bass.

External links

  • "Doug Martin", jazz guitarist, plays rhythm guitar in the Quintet.
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