Fresh from Whidbey Island’s renowned DjangoFest NW, Richard Smith, Joscho Stephan and Rory Hoffman join us in Mill Valley for a special concert that will blow you away. The combination of these outstanding musicians is like having three individual headliners on stage at the same time! Think Django Reinhardt meets Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed meets pop music. Swing tunes, Gypsy jazz, some pop and an array of grooves with ear catching melodies and blistering solos…need we say more?
✧ One Night Only ✧
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Joscho Stephan’s roots lie in Gipsy Swing music, the style pioneered in the 1930s by the legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Joscho Stephan has not merely absorbed this music, but also interprets it on the highest level and is actively engaged in extending its boundaries. Despite his youth, after four highly acclaimed CDs and a DVD he has played his way into the illustrous circle of the finest Gipsy Swing musicians in the world.Great jazz musicians such as Paquito de Rivera, James Carter, Charlie Mariano or Grady Tate enthusiastically praised the talented newcomer after performing together.He has toured Australia with top guitarists Martin Taylor and Tommy Emmanuel and has performed with his own bands (trio to quintett) on numerous important European festivals (among others in Slovenia, Italy, France, Poland and the UK). His concert appearances in New York’s Lincoln Center or the American country capital Nashville were equally well-received, as were his performances in the New Yorker jazz shrine Birdland. Across the board, the press only has good things to say about Joscho Stephan. His debut “Swinging Strings” was named CD of the month by American magazine Guitar Player.
Rory Hoffmanis a Nashville based multi-instrumentalist. Raised on a small ranch in North Dakota, Rory grew up recording and touring with the family Gospel band. He started teaching himself to play guitar and piano at age 3. By age 5 he was the drummer in the family band. He currently plays over a dozen stringed, keyboard and wind instruments. Rory has played the Grand Ole Opry numerous times, as a soloist and as a sideman with Ricky Skaggs, Kathy Mattea and John Cowan. Working with these stars and others has enabled him to play several notable festivals, including Telluride with John Cowan, and Djangofest as part of the John Jorgenson quintet. He has performed in Norway, Italy and Jamaica thus far and deeply enjoys any opportunities to travel the world, experiencing the culture and sharing music. When not out on the road touring, Rory is proud to be in several local Nashville bands, including 50 Shades of Hay, and the Gypsy hombres.
Richard Smith started playing the guitar at age 5 and has never looked back. Focusing early on with the fingerstyle guitar of Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, he began transcribing classical music, Jazz, the gypsy style of Django Reinhardt, bluegrass, ragtime and the blues to Sousa marches. Now a seasoned performer in his forties with thousands of performances worldwide to his credit. In 2018, Richard performed in five continents… North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia including performances with and alongside Tommy Emmanuel, Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Dave Peacock, Martin Taylor, Brent Mason, Gary Brooker, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Joe Brown, Ralph McTell and many others.
