The 15th annual DjangoFest Mill Valley kicks off June 21st with a special concert featuring the Bina Coquet Trio from Brazil plus renowned Dutch bassist Simon Planting. Opening the evening will be the Jimmy Grant Trio with Jimmy Grant, Tommy Davy and Chris Bastian.
BINA COQUET TRIO
Bina Coquet - Guitar
Fernando Seifarth - Rhythm Guitar
Florian Cristea - Violin
Bina Coquet presents a unique version of the Manouche Jazz, which emerged in France in the 1930s, mixed with Brazilian music and his own compositions. Coquet is the first Brazilian to play this style outside the country in festivals specialized in the genre. He and his trio have performed at the Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz Festival in Amsterdam (2017), the DjangoFest Northwest festival in the U.S., as well as at festivals in Colombia and Chile. Coquet can turn Django’s guitar into a cavaquinho, make the bass line of Dino 7 cordas, drum as Baden Powell, cry like a mandolin of Jacob or whisper in João Gilberto’s hit.
SIMON PLANTING
Dutch double bassist Simon Planting lives near San Francisco, but studied Classical bass with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Jazz at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam before embarking on a professional career. He has performed in concerts and festivals the world over, and has compiled an impressive discography with artists like Mathilde Santing, Fapy Lafertin, Jimmy Rosenberg, Stephane Wrembel, and John Jorgenson. Simon Planting is the DjangoFest NW Artistic Director.
JIMMY GRANT TRIO
Jimmy Grant - Guitar
Tommy Davy - Guitar
Chris Bastian - Bass
Native to Northern California, Jimmy Grant grew up in a household full of rich musical influences. While his early influences also included Russian Folk, Bluegrass, Celtic and Classical, from a young age he gravitated towards the music of Django Reinhardt. He has studied with acclaimed guitarists Jim Nichols and Howard Alden, and in addition to Django Reinhardt, his other major musical influences are Bach, Benny Goodman, and Joe Pass. He has performed with artists such as David Grisman, Gonzalo Bergara, Ludovic Beier, Andreas Oberg, Tim Kliphuis, Paulus Schafer, Robin Nolan, Trio Dinicu, Rhythm Future Quartet, and the Hot Club of San Francisco, and has played at Djangofest Northwest, The Savannah Music Festival, Nor Cal Jazz Festival, and The New York Hot Jazz Festival.
Bassist Chris Bastian is a California native who has lived and worked as a musician in Oakland, Los Angeles, New York City, Quito, Ecuador, and Santiago de Chile. He has performed with a variety of ensembles in a wide range of musical traditions including jazz, opera, blues, flamenco, Jewish music, huayno, soul, and Afrobeat,. He has performed at Radio City Music Hall, Herbst Theater, Studio 54, Yoshi’s, and Ars Nova and has had the honor to share the stage with Babá Ken Okulolo, Kenny Burrell, Kalil Wilson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Il Volo, among others. In addition to his versatility on double, electric, and keybass, Chris also plays accordion and keyboards. He is interested in the way people collaborate and the intersection of diverse forms of artistic expression.
Whether it’s French waltzes, poignant interpretations of gypsy folk music or the swinging standards of the Hot Club of France, guitarist Tommy Davy demonstrates technical mastery, compositional creativity and sensitivity beyond his years. He has already performed internationally with the greatest masters of the Gypsy Jazz Genre, such as Opus 4, Serge Camps, Samy Daussat, Florin Niculescu, Tcha Limberger, Lolo Meier and Andreas Oberg. His vast repertoire also includes Romanian, Hungarian Yugoslavian and Russian traditional folk music. He is one of the rare few who can deftly navigate this uncommon musical language. Since 2006 Tommy has toured nationally with David Grisman, Stephane Wrembel, Angelo Debarre and Robin Nolan to name a few. Davy and his ensemble have been featured at Djangofest Northwest, Djangofest LA, Djangofest Mill Valley, Djangofest Colorado, Bimbo’s 365 Club and NY Birdland’s Django Reinhardt Festival Tour. Tommy resides in Los Angeles and currently performs with his Jazz Manouche ensemble, The Tommy Davy Quartet and classical/jazz crossover group Trio Dinicu. Davy performs on an original 1939 Selmer guitar, a 1971 Jacques Favino, and instruments by French luthier Christelle Caillot.
TICKETS
General Admission – $41
Reserved Seating – $50
Prices include access to the Opening Night After Party (location TBA). Join us for light nosh and refreshments and a chance to mingle with some of the DFMV 2019 artists!
FESTIVAL PASSES -- Save 20%
Weekend Concert Pass - $120 | GET FESTIVAL PASS
DFMV Pass holders will enjoy the venue's best reserved seating for all 3 nights of the festival and have access to all festival parties, djams and more!
WHAT IS DJANGOFEST MILL VALLEY?
Learn more about DFMV and check out this year's schedule of events here.
