Django Reinhardt’s Jazz Manouche meets the European Songbook.

Jazz Manouche (or Sinti Swing) was established in Paris around 1930 by the legendary Quintette de Hot Club du France. The main protagonists were guitarist Django Reinhardt, a member of the Manouche, the Sinti living in France, and French violinist Stéphane Grappelli. The result was an independent European genre that differed from American swing and became world-famous. Characteristic is the percussive guitar accompaniment, called “La Pomp”, which gives the music its inimitable swing drive. In the recent past, it seems that swing manouche is experiencing a period of special attention again, especially in Berlin. Since 2014, “Monsieur Pompadour” has been an integral part of this scene.

For us the European Songbook is all about connecting songs across many languages. The voices of Paolo Conte, Hildegard Knef, Francois Hardy, M.A. Numminen, Gianna Nannini, Manfred Krug and many more have become part of a European culture that inspires us.

In the best vaudeville tradition, we perform on the singing saw, fail on the slide flute, get our audience to sing along and entertain them with questionable stories.