Hot Club of Los Angeles

“This band is an LA treasure”--Jackson Browne. The Hot Club of Los Angeles was founded in 2011 as a gathering of local established musicians with backgrounds in country, jazz, folk, blues and world music to perform the repertoire of Belgian guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt (1910-1953). Reinhardt pioneered the hybrid genre now known as gypsy jazz, and popularized it with his Quintette du Hot Club de France beginning in 1930s Paris.

The group released “Django’s Tiger” in 2013 and is currently recording its second album, “Cinema Swing” for 2019 release. That recording will feature a mix of classic gypsy jazz numbers and original material composed in that vein by band members. The ensemble's popularity has spread from its acclaimed Monday night residency—now in its eighth year—at Culver City's Cinema Bar, to dance nights at upscale venues such as Clifton’s Brookdale Ballroom, and municipal and corporate events where the band's up-tempo swing, acoustic shredding and dapper presentation are de rigueur for events requiring distinctive vintage sophistication. The Hot Club of Los Angeles also served as house band at the 2017 and 2018 all-star Artists For Peace and Justice “Songs From The Cinema” benefit, curated by Jackson Browne. For those events, the group backed celebrated artists including Jackson Browne, Jeff Bridges, Rufus Wainwright, T-Bone Burnett, Petra Haden, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Rita Wilson, Judith Owen, Bill Frisell, Jonathan Wilson, Gabby Moreno, Paul Beaubrun, and others.

The core lineup of the Hot Club of Los Angeles consists of Josh Workman (guitar), Jake Bluenote (guitar/mandolin/banjo/vocal), Carl Byron (accordion/piano/vocal), Paul Eckman (upright bass), and Jim Doyle (drums/vocal). The group welcomes Jackson Browne for occasional mini-sets at the Cinema Bar, and also often features gypsy jazz and trad jazz luminaries such as Leah Zeger, Fabrice Martinez, Nora Germain, Alex Budman, Tommy Davy & Luanne Homzy, Jeff Radaitch, Kale Stiles, Gage Hulsey, Bill Barrett, Antoine Salem, Ethan Emerson, John McDuffie and Michael Saucier as special guests.

MEMBER BIOS

JIM DOYLE (drums/vocal; co-founder)

Jim is a founding member of the Hot Club of Los Angeles and also serves as the band’s producer. His credits as a lauded drummer/percussionist sideman and session musician include work with Jackson Browne, Brian Setzer, Paul Overstreet, Joan Osborne, Tim Armstrong, Granville Automatic, Ted Russell Kamp, John Nau, Rancho Deluxe, Jeff Turmes and Charlie Terrell among many others. Jim’s drums can also be heard on film and TV soundtracks, as well as in commercials for Domino’s Pizza, AT&T, and Sony Playstation, among many other brands. He also produces and records a wide array of artists and bands in his recording studio, Doyle Audio.

CARL BYRON (piano/accordion/vocals; co-founder)

Carl is a founding member of the Hot Club of Los Angeles. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a "musical ace," he records and performs with a wide range of artists and ensembles as a keyboardist, composer/arranger and music director. Carl has worked with artists including Jackson Browne, Anne McCue, Michelle Shocked, Lori Lieberman, Deana Carter, Bo Diddley, Austin Hanks, Warren Zevon, Jim Lauderdale, Duane Jarvis, Ben Vaughn, the Young Dubliners, Spencer Davis Group, Shane Alexander, Kara Grainger, Calico, Donna Loren, Mike Stoller & Gerry Goffin; and with producers David Kahne, Dusty Wakeman, David Baerwald, Peter Case, Ed Tree, David Bianco, Eric Corne, Val Garay, Ira Ingber, Sheldon Gomberg and Moris Tepper among many others. The repertoire of the Hot Club of Los Angeles features some of Carl’s gypsy jazz compositions. Carl also teaches keyboards and music composition at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.

PAUL ECKMAN (bass)

Paul is an in-demand upright and electric bass virtuoso and composer. He joined the Hot Club of Los Angeles in 2015. Paul has recorded and performed with an impressive range of top flight acts, including Jessie Baylin, Peter Case, Rick Vito, Trini Lopez, Connie Stevens, Jake LaBotz, Jeff Turmes, and many others. Paul is also the bandleader of Orchestra Superstring, an instrumental ensemble that fuses an exotic, hypnotic blend of Afro-Cuban, Latin and other World music styles on its albums “Orchestra Superstring” and “Easy”; and which features other notable members, including DJ Bonebrake, Danny Frankel and Debra Dobkin. Paul has also contributed his own original gypsy jazz compositions to the Hot Club of Los Angeles’ repertoire.

JAKE BLUENOTE (guitar/mandolin/banjo/vocals)

Jake is a guitar, mandolin and banjo virtuoso at home in a wealth of diverse styles, including gypsy jazz. He joined the Hot Club of Los Angeles in 2016. A poet, metaphysician, member in good standing of The Dodgson Rangers and prolific multi-instrumentalist, recordist, and songwriter, Jake’s breadth of unusual musical interests and talents is surpassed only by the extent of his philosophical and musical vision. He is a specialist in all things counter, original, spare and strange. Jake’s own Electric Eden is a musical universe where mammoths roam the Berkshire downs and banjos ring out side-by-side with paisley plainsong and the peals of a Rickenbacker bass.

JOSH WORKMAN (guitar)

Josh is a master guitarist, heralded for his work as a former member of the The Hot Club of San Francisco and lauded for his supreme command of diverse musical styles, including gypsy jazz. He joined the Hot Club of Los Angeles in 2017. Josh’s extensive credits as a sideman and session musician include work with Jon Hendricks, Benny Green, Lynda Carter, Indigo Swing, Brian Setzer, Deborah Harry, The Jazz Passengers and many others. His performances and compositions have been featured on film, TV and video game soundtracks. Josh also writes for Guitar Player, Premier Guitar, and other music publications. His album ‘Jumpin’ at the Border’ received critical acclaim in many publications, including Downbeat, and is featured on jazz radio playlists. Josh also teaches guitar at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.