Montana Manouche - Friday 4/28

Gypsy Jazz music is experiencing a worldwide resurgence in interest and popularity, and Montana is no exception!

Montana Manouche began in 2012, when bluegrass musicians Ray Padilla (rhythm guitar) and Nancy Padilla (violin) from Bozeman, started getting together to play Gypsy Jazz tunes with Livingston jazz guitarist Dave Sullivan. Their casual "just for fun" jamming led to local gigs. They became passionate about playing the style, attending many Gypsy Jazz events and workshops. Now a quartet, with Bozeman jazz bassist Mike Carey adding his great groove to the group's swinging sound, Montana Manouche enjoys an active performing schedule, playing concerts, private events, and swing dances. They play a few original tunes, but their repertoire consists mainly of the compositions of Django Reinhardt and his American contemporaries.

Montana Manouche is a Bozeman-based Gypsy Jazz quartet that plays music in the style of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France. Django Reinhardt was born in Belgium, in 1910, in a nomadic caravan, to Manouche parents. (Manouche refers to the branch of the Romani people that settled in France.) As a teenager, Django was already an accomplished musician, and performed in the Paris dance halls. After he heard the music of American jazz bands playing in Paris, Django was captivated, and began absorbing and assimilating the popular jazz standards, working out the the melodies on his guitar. In the early 1930s, Django met French violinist Stephane Grappelli, who was also experimenting with playing American jazz. Together they formed The Quintette of the Hot Club of France, a groundbreaking European jazz group showcasing Django on guitar and Stephane Grappelli on violin, along with a rhythm section that featured a unique rhythm guitar style known as "la pompe." And so began the musical genre known today as Jazz Manouche or Gypsy Jazz.

Musical Genre: Gypsy Jazz