Page 22 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2018

COASTNOTES
Gypsy Jazz
comes to the Coast
story by Lynn Lofton
IT’S time to buy tickets for a new kind of local fundraiser — the Symphony Guild’s Spring fundraiser, Hot Club at the Yacht Club. The February
24 event features gypsy jazz, a buffet dinner and a raffle at the Gulfport Yacht Club. The festive evening begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 and
music at 7:30.
“This exciting and fun-filled event will feature music by The Hot Club of Baton Rouge. There are only
150 tickets available and they are going fast!” says chairman Susan Pollard.
Symphony Guild Co-President Joyce Jurik says this particular fundraiser — a first for the Coast — was
chosen because it’s different and gypsy jazz is growing in popularity. “We wanted to do
something that would offer lots of fun in return for supporting
the symphony orchestra,” she said. “Some of
us heard the group play at another venue and were fascinated by the music as well as the story of how it came about.”
Gypsy jazz is also known as gypsy swing or hot club jazz. It has its origins with Jean Django Reinhardt,
a Romany guitar musician in Europe in the 1920s.
He lost two fingers due to a fire in his gypsy wagon and developed a method of playing that would accommodate his handicap. The unique sound caught on and was especially popular in France where there is still a Django Reinhardt celebration in Paris on
the anniversary of his June birthday. Many of the musicians in this style originally worked in Paris in
various popular musette ensembles in which the lead instrument was typically the accordion
with banjo accompaniment, the latter played with
a plectrum for volume.
In addition
to music and dinner, there will be fortune
tellers and Tarot card and
palm readers. Guild members encourage those
attending to wear gypsy dress.
Tickets are $75 each.
For tickets, contact Ginny Hermetz at 228.832.4588 or gphermetz@bellsouth.net or the Gulf Coast Symphony office at 228.896.4276.
22 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • February 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net