Hot Club of New Orleans

Based in New Orleans — gypsy jazz in the Django Reinhardt tradition

The Hot Club of New Orleans takes the swing-era music of Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, and Stéphane Grappelli, keeps the classic groove, and infuses it with Crescent City spirit. With violin, clarinet, guitars, and upright bass — and no drummer, in the classic Hot Club format — they move from “Minor Swing” to Ellington to sly originals without ever sounding like a museum piece.

Never heard the Hot Club before?

🎻 Lineup

Violin · clarinet · guitars · upright bass — no drums

💿 Albums

Hot Club of New Orleans (2002) · More! (2004)

🎶 Repertoire

Reinhardt & Grappelli classics · Ellington · originals

Their album More! drew an OffBeat rave for its swing — from “Slow Boat to China” and “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” to “Minor Swing” and David Mooney’s original “Stutter Step.”

Why We Love the Hot Club of New Orleans

There’s a particular magic in hearing Parisian swing played by people who also know what a second line feels like. The Hot Club of New Orleans doesn’t just recreate the Quintette du Hot Club de France — they let it breathe Crescent City air. Matt Rhody’s violin can soar like Grappelli and then turn sly; David Mooney sings the old swing tunes like he means every word; and the whole band swings with the easy confidence of players who know this music was made for dancing. It’s the most elegant party in town, and everybody’s invited.

Biography

Paris Meets the Crescent City

In the 1930s, guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli created a new music in Paris — the Quintette du Hot Club de France, blending Romani musical tradition with American swing. The Hot Club of New Orleans took up that flame in the Crescent City with a joyful mission, as WWOZ puts it: take the swing-era music of Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, and Stéphane Grappelli, retain the classic groove, avoid sounding like a museum piece, and infuse it with their own New Orleans spirit.

The lineup follows the classic Hot Club format — strings and reeds up front, and pointedly no drummer. Violinist Matt Rhody and clarinetist Christopher Kohl carry the melody voices; guitarists Todd Duke, David Mooney, and Peter Harris drive the signature pumping rhythm; and the upright bass chair has been held by players including Matt Perrine and Adam Booker. Mooney also steps out front to sing, bringing a crisp, earnest charm to the swing songbook.

“Matt Rhody’s inspired fiddle zooming through the stratosphere... the Hot Club’s reading of this tune evokes the sultry atmosphere of an idealized New Orleans.”

— OffBeat, on More!

Their self-titled debut arrived in 2002, followed by More! in 2004 — an OffBeat favorite that ranges from “On a Slow Boat to China” and a funky “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” through Reinhardt and Grappelli’s “Minor Swing” to Mooney’s original “Stutter Step” (spelled “Shutter Step” on the CD). A third disc, Heavy Artillery, adds Django’s title tune, “Czardas,” “Douce Ambience,” and a “Creole Love Call” that feels right at home. All three are available through the Louisiana Music Factory.

You’ll find the Hot Club where New Orleans celebrates itself: the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Festival lineups year after year, and rooms where the dance floor fills the moment the first chorus hits. It’s swing music with a passport — stamped Paris, stamped New Orleans.