Swing Noire

Hot Swing in the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli

Call it what you may—Gypsy jazz, hot swing, jazz manouche. Swing Noire invokes the energy of a swingin' jazz club and transports audiences back to the early days of jazz with their unique take on Hot Swing in the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Vermont's oldest acoustic, Hot Club style quartet, Swing Noire makes music that "will entrance and surprise you."

Stephane and Django are credited with bringing this unique music into the world during the early 1930's and creating some of the first jazz based outside of the African American tradition. Their Quintette of the Hot Club of France united jazz with the Manouche Gypsy music of Django's boyhood. If you haven't heard this music (especially live) you are in for a treat - energy, soul, sophistication, ballads, blues, standards, improv.

About the band

Pine Island violinist David Gusakov, twins Rob and Jim McCuen on solo guitar and double bass, and rhythm guitarist Jared Volpe make up Vermont's oldest acoustic, Hot Club style quartet.

  • David Gusakov

    Violin, Viola

    I first played western swing with Pine Island in the '70s, moved to swing standards through several incarnations of Swing Shift in the '80s and '90s, and then hooked into Parisian swing with the Will Patton Ensemble (3 CDs to date). Extra inspiration came from meeting Stephane Grappelli backstage in NYC and later playing a gig with his bass player. I've written a few swing tunes (Hot Water on Pine Island's Live Inside album) and hope to do more. I love and play many styles of music, but none frees my musical soul like swing, especially Parisian swing. The sizzle of the hot tunes, the slow-burn passion of the ballades - I think I was a troubadour in a past life!

  • Rob McCuen

    Guitar

    Rob began playing guitar at 14 when his cello studies became too complicated. He strove to emulate the sounds of Hendrix, Clapton, and other rock gods, without much success. Rob began delving into jazz while in college and continued his exploration. He has played in bands including T. Hatch, the Fairy Gangstas, and Wiley Dobbs, playing everything from bluegrass to jazz to hip-hop. Rob and his musical cohorts have played at various clubs and events, sharing the stage with bands such as Ma Ma Vig, Eddie From Ohio, and moe.

  • Jim McCuen

    Bass

    Jim joined the Upstate New York jam band Conehead Buddha in the early nineties, touring extensively and sharing the stage with Rusted Root, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and moe. Jim eventually began moving in a different musical direction, buying an upright bass and moving to Colorado. He provided the bottom end for several groups, playing bluegrass and jazz throughout Colorado and New Mexico. Returning to the Northeast in 2000, Jim joined his brother Rob in the newgrass/jazz group Wiley Dobbs. The band has played clubs, festivals, and weddings throughout Upstate New York and New England.

  • Jared Volpe

    Rhythm Guitar

    The short of it is that I have the hot swing bug. Can't really stop listening to it. My grandparents raised me on jazz – the same jazz that inspired Django and Stephane – Armstrong, Ellington, Hawkings, Carter, et al. It's a fit (I played the mandolin for almost 10 years before quitting cold turkey - I've seen the light.) Since then, I have been studying the art of 'la pompe' (aka the pump) - the harmonic and rhythmic foundation of the Gypsy jazz rhythm section. It is an art unto itself, and I'm still finger painting, but I can make it sound pretty now and again. I've had the good fortune of studying rhythm with Dennis Chang, Hervé Gaguenetti, Michael Horowitz, Dave Kelbie, and most recently, The Roseneberg Trio.

The repertoire

Django was a prolific composer, arranger, and recorder. His tradition is alive and proliferating as seen not only in the virtuosic playing of The Rosenberg Trio, Bireli Lagrene, the Schmitt family, Angelo Debarre, Fapy Lafertin, Lollo Meier, Patrick Saussois, Jimmy Rosenberg, Ritary Gaguenetti, their bands and countless others, but also by the worldwide phenomenon of Hot Clubs.

Here is a taste of the tunes we perform: After You've Gone, All of Me, Blue Drag, Bossa Dorado, Diminishing, Django's Castle, Djangology, Douce Ambiance, For Sephora, Heavy Artillerie, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, I'll See You In My Dreams, J'Attendrai, Limeshouse Blues, Mabel, Minor Blues, Minor Swing, Night and Day, Nuages, Oriental Shuffle,Si Tu Savais, Stompin' at Decca, Sweet Chorus, Sweet Georgia Brown, Swing '42, Swing Gitan, Tchavolo Swing, Tears, Troublant Bolero and others...