jazz

Thursday Night Gypsy Jazz & Wine

New DBD favorite La Pompe is playing at Two Corks and a Bottle (2800 Routh Street #140) from 7:00-10:00pm, tonight.

If you don’t know Two Corks, it’s a quiet little winery and wine bar on the edge of the Quadrangle, on the Laclede side. They rotate the varieties they have available by the glass, and have bottles of everything available. They have cheese plates from Scardello available (I don’t think that rotates), but you can certainly bring food, or order from several local eateries (I’ve had MoMo’s, which is a few doors down, bring it right over like it was their own restaurant, including regular dishes and silverware).

As for La Pompe, they do “Gypsy Jazz” (think Django Reinhardt). Their site notes this, and they will explain it, too—but Gypsy Jazz doesn’t use drums. Instead, it relies on a driving, regular beat established by a guitar or two, and maybe an upright bass.

The lovely Kathryn Hackett fronts the band, and sings most of the songs, some in English, some French, with the occasional Spanish, German, and/or Yiddish song thrown in. Max Robertson plays the living hell out of a mandolin. Mark Deffebach—who frequently plays bass with Dave Burris and the Sassafrass Swing Set—drives the guitar, in this case a slightly tinny-sounding instrument that fits perfectly in this band, and sings a song or two. They will usually have one of several upright bass players join them, or occasionally a second guitar.

Get out to see these folks. It’s a great band in a marvelous location.