Pittsfield — Presented by Berkshires Jazz for Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Winter Arts Festival, the Hot Club of New England played a show at the Berkshire Museum on Saturday, February 24 to a sold-out crowd celebrating Duke Ellington’s 125th birth anniversary. And a high-energy celebration it was.
When I wrote earlier this month that the Hot Club of New England is a gypsy jazz supergroup, I was right on the money. But I failed to anticipate a couple of things: First, Matt DeChamplain comes unbelievably close to channeling Oscar Peterson when he takes a break from channeling Duke Ellington, who is the subject of a class Matt teaches at the Hartt School. Second, Atla DeChamplain can channel any jazz singer you’d care to name, but she doesn’t need to, because she has her own way of singing jazz that would remind you more of Diana Krall than Ella Fitzgerald. Atla has a conspicuous ability to properly “work” a microphone, and, lo and behold, she is an assistant teaching professor of amplified voice in the Department of Music at Rhode Island University’s College of Arts and Sciences. (Every music conservatory should have its own Atla DeChamplain, but, alas! There aren’t enough to go around!) She specializes in vocalese (one of the most difficult jazz singing techniques imaginable), and her scat singing is more fluid, more accurate, and more musically satisfying than that of most jazz singers you are likely to encounter.
The real gypsy jazz guys in this band are guitarist Max O’Rourke, violinist Jason Anick, and bassist Greg Loughman, all members of the Rhythm Future Quartet. O’Rourke plays convincingly and with rock-solid precision in the classic Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz style, Anick doing likewise with his fiddle in the trademark manner of Stephane Grappelli. On bass, Loughman anchors everything with an unwavering pulse decorated with inspired soloing. The result of these combined efforts on Saturday was the pure joy of absolutely authentic jazz music in the French Manouche style.
The repertory on Saturday was mostly Ellington, along with Oscar Peterson’s “Noreen’s Nocturne” and one of the group’s original tunes. They started their set with “Cotton Tail” before Atla took the stage to sing “In A Mellow Tone.” From there, the group alternated between vocal and instrumental numbers, the strongest of which was probably Matt’s solo piano medley of “Jubilee Stomp,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” and “Caravan.” Everything turned to gold whenever Atla joined the band, but “Do Nothin’ Til You Hear From Me” and “Just Squeeze Me” were especially memorable—almost as memorable as her sound, which is consistently resonant throughout her range, due partly to the strength of her vocal chops and partly to her skill in handling a microphone. Naturally, the crowd demanded an encore and got one: “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.”
Saturday’s performance by the Hot Club of New England was a tight, well-paced show with a highly professional sheen reflective of outstanding musicianship. If you missed them, probably the best thing you can do is buy their digital album here and follow them on Facebook.
