Hot Club d’Europe – Song d’Automne

Here’s a new Gypsy Jazz Band called Hot Club d’Europe

Features:

Olli Soikkeli, guitar
Paulus Schäfer, guitar
Arnoud van den Berg, double bass

Who are these guys?

“Olli Soikkeli was born in Nurmes, Finland in 1991. He started playing guitar at age of 12. After a few years of playing Olli was introduced to the music of great Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz has been Ollis main focus ever since. Soon Olli was playing in jazz clubs and festivals all around Finland. Despite his young age he’s already played with stars such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Andreas Öberg, Vitali Imereli and Joscho Stephan.

Paulus Schäfer (born 1978) is one of the most talented gipsy jazz guitarists from The Netherlands today. Born into a Dutch Sinti (Gipsy) community he learned to play the guitar at a very early age. Besides listening to fellow Sinti and records of his idol Django Reinhardt, it were Wasso Grünholz – a legend of his own within the community – and his nephew Stochelo Rosenberg from whom he learned the most. . . . . After a short period of time, in which Paulus briefly took over the lead guitar of Jimmy Rosenberg in the Gipsy Kids, he formed his own group and recorded his debut album “Into the Light” in 2002.

Upright bass player Arnoud van den Berg calls gypsy jazz “the rock ‘n roll of jazz”. A versatile musician, he’s currently focusing on blues and gypsy jazz, regularly joining forces with guitar giants Robin Nolan and Nomy Rosenberg. Inspired by the rhythm section of Bob Marley’s Wailers, The Police front man Sting and Beatle Paul McCartney, Arnoud van den Berg (1971, the Netherlands) took up electric bass at the age of ten after a year of tinkering with acoustic guitar. Ten years later he found his calling when he switched to upright bass.”  see more