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The Hot Club of San Francisco has never shied away from putting their own stamp on the Gypsy jazz sound created by guitar legend Django Reinhardt and violin maestro Stephane Grappelli in 1930s Paris. Guitarist Paul Mehling, a leading force in North America’s Hot Club movement since the early 1990s, has long made a point of featuring original tunes along with Reinhardt standards and imaginative “Djangofied” interpretations of songs by the likes of Lennon and McCartney. But the band’s 15th album, “Original Gadjo,” captures the creative ferment of the entire group, not just its fearless leader. It’s a project that finds the venerable combo revivified after a pandemic-induced hiatus, hitting on all creative cylinders.
Matt Panayides is a guitarist who has long had his own style. His harmonically adventurous playing, at times a bit reminiscent of Jim Hall and Pat Martino, is filled with fresh and personal chord voicings. Originally a pianist, he initially became a guitarist inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page before discovering jazz. Since finishing his university studies, Matt has headed his own creative groups and recorded three albums. His fourth, “With Eyes Closed,” is his first acoustic trio album. Joined by bassist Steve LaSpina and drummer Anthony Pinciotti, Panayides digs into eight songs by six jazz composers plus reinvented versions of three standards.
Also this week, original members Bill Summers and Mike Clark unveil a new studio album from the Headhunters, “The Stunt Man,” featuring songs spanning the genre-bending repertoire of the 50-year-old ensemble; drummer Brandon Sanders, who was first exposed to the music of such greats as Jimmy Smith, Grant Green and Lou Donaldson at his grandmother’s nightspot in Kansas City, releases his sophomore recording, “The Tables Will Turn”; and guitarist and German native Philip Weberndoerfer, who has steadily been contributing to the New York jazz scene as a bandleader and sideman since 2016, drops his debut disc, “Tides.”