Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Combining jazz and short films, The Hot Club of San Francisco brings a unique musical and visual combination to Mississippi State University March 5.
"Silent Surrealism," an evening of black-and-white films accompanied by highly rhythmic gypsy jazz, reintroduces a music that reached the zenith of its popularity in the 1930s jazz clubs of Paris. The 7:30 p.m. performance in historic Lee Hall auditorium is part of the university's Lyceum Series.
Available at the door, tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for MSU faculty and staff and senior citizens (65 and over by request), and $8 for children 3-12. MSU students will be admitted free with student identification. All seats purchased at the door are general admission.
Composed of three guitarists, a bass player and a violinist, The Hot Club of San Francisco pays tribute to the music of Django Reinhardt, considered to be one of the most virtuosic guitar players of his time. Now with 10 albums to its credit, the ensemble recreates the sounds of Reinhardt's "jazz manouche," or gypsy jazz, that derived from influences such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Joe Venturi .
The group has gained distinction for its presentation of "Silent Surrealism," an evening of silent surrealist films accompanied by their live gypsy jazz. Featuring several short silent films by Charlie Bowers such as "Now You Tell One" and "It's a Bird," as well as films by James Sibley Watson and Harold Shaw, the ensemble provides accompaniments of distinctive music made famous at the Hot Club de France. Films are courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
The music of The Hot Club of San Francisco has entranced audiences around the globe for over a decade, bringing the jazz manouche style to new audiences. In the process, the group has earned the reputation, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, as "one of the most cohesive and entertaining gypsy swing bands in the United States."
For more information on this MSU Lyceum Series program, please call (662) 325-4201 or visit www.msstate.edu/dept/lyceum or www.hcsf.com. For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.