01/04/11

Story by Peggy Graham

Hot Club of San Francisco

‘Silent Surrealism’ pairs Gypsy jazz and silent films

High resolution photo

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The country’s most celebrated Gypsy jazz ensemble, The Hot Club of San Francisco, will accompany four silent surrealist films in a night titled Silent Surrealism at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, in Polsky Theatre of the Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College.

The multimedia performance follows the tradition of 1920s Paris when “avant-garde” cinema was paired with live music in a small theater. The bourgeoisie, big thinkers of the time, aristocracy and escapists all gathered to experience this cutting-edge art and, later, reconvene at the local cafes to discuss and debate the merits of the film, actors and director.

Fast-forward 90 years. Continuing this early French tradition, a similar scene plays out as The Hot Club of San Francisco presents Silent Surrealism that includes four black-and-white shorts — Now You Tell One, It’s a Bird, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Land Beyond Sunset.

The Hot Club accompanies these films with the distinctive music made famous by Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club de France.

Silent Surrealism is a brilliant multimedia trip back to a time when the artistic and literary style emerged as a means of expressing the imagination. Writers and filmmakers were more interested in the implications of words and images and providing the audience with the opportunity to vicariously experience the unknown or unimaginable.

The Hot Club of San Francisco is an ensemble of accomplished and versatile musicians celebrating the music of the pioneering Hot Club de France, founded in Paris in 1932 to promote the development of “innovative” jazz as a musical genre. The ensemble borrows the all-string instrumentation of violin, bass and guitars from the original Hot Club. Then they breathe new life into the music with innovative arrangements of classic tunes and original compositions from the group’s superb lead guitarist Paul Mehling.

Hearing the ensemble carries the listener back to the 1930s and to the small, smoky jazz clubs of Paris. Often called gypsy jazz, the music of The Hot Club of San Francisco has entranced audiences around the globe for more than 18 years.

Tickets are $30, available by calling the PAS box office, 913-469-4445, or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries.

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