Available to book from POA. For an accurate quote please make an enquiry.
Hot Club d’Afrique is an all-acoustic Gypsy Jazz band originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, providing live music for weddings, corporate functions, and other private and public events. Their music pays tribute to the original “Quintette du Hot Club de France”, founded in 1934 by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. The Hot Club name refers to the Swing jazz of the 1930s, known at the time as ‘hot jazz’, or in France, as ‘le jazz hot’.
Hot Club d’Afrique was founded in Johannesburg in 2008 by husband-and-wife duo Kevin Drummond on guitar,and Theodora Drummond on the piano accordion. Sharing a mutual love for the music of Django Reinhardt, they formed the first South African Gypsy Jazz band with other local musicians.
The band’s current formation has been performing together since 2012, with Katharina Alexandra Rodriguez-Lopez on double bass and vocals, singing French and English romantic songs of the 1930s and beyond, and Frances van der Walt on violin, rhythm guitar and backing vocals. A more recent addition to the band is Chilean guitarist, Nicolás Rodriguez-Lopez.
The band stays true to the sound of the original Hot Club Quintette of the 1930s – emphasising the acoustic, string-based sound typical of Gypsy Jazz. The style is romantic and old-fashioned, and transports the listener to the bygone era of pre-war Paris.
= areas covered (up to 355 miles)
= free travel (up to 10 miles)
We need a performance space of at least 2 meters x 3 meters. We require a working plugpoint near the band setup area, as well as 2 parking spaces
We need to know any directions that will help us find the venue and find the right place to load in our equipment.
We provide our own full PA system including microphones and cables etc, but do not provide lighting equipment. For very large events, we recommend that the venue/client arranges sound and lighting independently.
We are happy to provide background music similar to that of our performance style directly before, after, and between our sets.
We normally arrive 2 hours before the performance to set up. We normally perform 2 x 45 minutes or 2 x 60 minute sets. We’re happy to play a bit longer or shorter but we’ve found that these set times suit us and our audiences best
We’re happy to play outside but we ask for shade and cover in case of rain, a flat level surface and a power supply close to the performance area
Wedding
Birthday Party
Private Event
Corporate Event
Hotel / Restaurant Event
Bar / Venue Event
Funeral / Memorial
Wedding Proposal
Concert
Theatre Show
1930s Music
1940s Music
Jazz
Gypsy Jazz
Latin Jazz
Swing
Background Music
World Music
French Music
Instrumental
Female vocalist
DJ / background music options
PA / sound system included
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