Hot Club of Baltimore

International Jazz Guitar Series

Guitarist Michael Joseph Harris hosts Django Jazz Fest for the first time at the legendary Blues Alley! Experience the magic of music as we enter the exciting world of Paris in the 1930s and the 1940s with particular emphasis on the music of Django Reinhardt, who single-handedly brought acoustic guitar to the forefront of jazz along with the most influential violinist of the time, Stephane Grappelli. The show includes Michael Joseph Harris on lead guitar with top violinist Eli Bishop from Nashville, clarinetist Gabriel Wallace, and stride piano master Brennen Ernst from Philadelphia along with guitarist Connor Holdridge and Will Ledbetter on bass.

Guitarist Michael Joseph Harris and his collective of trad jazz musicians have released 8 albums and performed at almost every Hot Jazz festival in the world including twice at Festival Django Reinhardt in France. Harris' weekly Monday Django Jazz Jam is the longest running session of its kind in the U.S. (13 years and counting) which put Baltimore on the map as a hot spot for Gypsy jazz music. Harris is founder and director of the Django Jazz Fest now in its 11th year which features top musicians in the world with particular emphasis on showcasing the best United States based artists. Harris toured multiple times both with his band Ultrafaux Ensemble and as guitarist for the acclaimed French band, Django Festival All Stars alongside Samson Schmitt, Ludovic Beier, and Pierre Blanchard. Both Hot Club of Baltimore and Ultrafaux Ensemble have been featured multiple times on Norwegian producer Jon Larsen's annual Hot Club Records compilation of the best Gypsy jazz in the world called "Django Festival." In fact, Harris' original compositions were featured three consecutive years on the compilation (one of the only artists to achieve that) which speaks to how his original work honors Django's legacy while pushing the genre forward.