Stephane Wrembel’s Django New Orleans

Stephane Wrembel brings Django New Orleans, his nine-piece specialty ensemble, to The Pocket in support of Django New Orleans II: Hors Série. Wrembel serves as musical director and guitarist, joined by guitarist Roy Williams, percussionist David Langlois, clarinet and tenor sax player Nick Driscoll, violinist Adrien Chevalie, trumpeter Joe Boga, tubist Steven Duffy, drummer Scott Kettner, and vocalist Sarah King. The set blends New Orleans brass traditions with the fiery pulse of Django Reinhardt’s Jazz Manouche, recasting classic material while drawing on the new record, which includes two Wrembel originals and his recorded vocal debut.

Wrembel grew up in Fontainebleau, France, and is known both for this Paris to New Orleans fusion and for original music heard in the Oscar Award-winning films Midnight in Paris and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Django New Orleans brings together Reinhardt material, classic New Orleans music, traditional Gypsy songs, and New Orleans sounds. Jazz at Lincoln Center programmer Jason Olaine has called the band “a unique blend of down-home party vibes and high-end listening experiences,” marked by “understated flair and acoustic funk.” The Syncopated Times described the group’s recorded work as “a wide-ranging set of colorful music,” while Making A Scene praised the repertoire’s “great variety.”