Jan 15, 2010
On
January 16, Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing will perform as part of
the Kennedy
Center's
102nd anniversary of the birth of violinist Stephane Grappelli. The
concert will close with a rousing finale featuring O'Connor's Hot
Swing with his powerhouse duo of guitarists Frank
Vignola and Julian
Lage, along with French guitarist Dorado
Schmitt of the Django Reinhardt Festival.
Together, the groups will recreate the 1930's heyday of Reinhardt
and Grappelli's Quintet of the Hot Club of France.
Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing is just one of many projects for the
prolific musician. Most recently, he has developed an innovative
school of teaching violin: The O'Connor Violin Method, which
focuses on American music and is the first new method of its kind
in decades.
Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing also features guitarist Frank Vignola,
bassist Gary Mazzaroppi (Lionel Hampton), vocalist
Heather Masse (The Wailin Jennys). Guitarist Julian Lage will join
the band at the Kennedy
Center and Mountain Stage while guitarist
Matthew Munisteri will join the tour following those
performances.
O'Connor is a Grammy-winning violinist and composer who is widely
recognized as one of the most gifted contemporary composers
in America and one of the brightest talents of his
generation. He's studied and recorded with some of the 20th
Century's greatest musicians, including mentors Stephane Grappeli
and Benny
Thomasson, and colleagues Wynton
Marsalis and Yo Yo
Ma.