Gypsy Mania “Hot Club” Quartet

Dinner and drinks service starts 1 hour before showtimes.

Hot Club Swing Jazz

A Twin Cities-based swing jazz band performs a timeless jazz tradition commonly known as Gypsy Jazz, a blend of traditional Roma music and swing jazz. The ‘Hot Club’ jazz tradition brings back happy memories of the swing jazz era.

Glen Helgeson – guitarist, bandleader

Gary Schulte – violin

Steve Pikal – bass

Jay Epstein – drums

Composing and performing for nearly three decades, Glen Helgeson has established himself jointly in both world music and in the field of music therapy. Glen has recorded eight CDs with combined sales of over 50,000 units. His professional recognitions include: A Minnesota Music Award for “Best Instrumental, Experimental, Environmental” album; A Minneapolis Walker Art Center commissioned grant for the Sculpture Garden; and the Jazz Composer Grant from the West Bank School of Music. Glen achieved a Masters degree in Music (1999); a certification in Neurologic Music Therapy (2003), and has practiced music therapy for 21 years.

Gary Schulte is a master improvisor and performance composer to whom Stephane Grappelli gave his most sincere blessing. A veteran of A Prairie Home Companion, he has done everything from classical improvisation with harpsichord master Layton James to the avant garde with David Byrne, and extensive collaborative work with groups such as Ballet of the Dolls, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and Zorongo Flamenco. Sought after as a jazz violinist, he has gigged with some of the greatest artists of the Gypsy Jazz genre, including guitarist legend Dorado Schmitt. A performance graduate of Indiana University School of Music, Schulte studied with Paganini virtuoso Rugierro Ricci.

Steve Pikal is highly regarded as a first call bass player from the Minnesota Twin Cities area jazz scene and with legendary performers such as Cab Calloway, Bob Hope, and Margaret Whiting. the Jim Cullum Jazz band, Butch Miles, Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Barbary Coast Dixieland Show band, Dick Hyman, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jon Weber, Danny Coots, Brian Holland, the Wolverines Big Band, Butch Thompson, Hal Smith, John Cocuzzi, Jeff Barnhart, The Midiri Brothers, and the Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz band.

Jay Epstein has had an extensive career as a performer, recording and touring artist, including European tours with pianists Bill Carrothers and Giacomo Aula. Some of the notable artists he has performed with include the rock band Gypsy, Barney Kessel, Roseanna Vitro, Manfredo Fest, Sheila Jordan, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Werner, Howard Levy, Toots Thielemans, and Sarah Vaughan. His CDs, ‘Long Ago’ and ‘Easy Company’, featuring bassist Anthony Cox and pianist Bill Carrothers, have garnered luminous reviews in the international press. Current bands include Red Planet, Klezmerica, Framework, Firebell, and Gypsy Mania.

“It was amazing to see this kind of Minnesota musical talent, so dedicated to the fun and energy of 1930s swing jazz, carry on the tradition with such enthusiasm and skill” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

WorldviewMusic.com/GypsyMania