Hot Club of Los Angeles

Hot Club of Los Angeles, hailed by Jackson Browne as “an LA treasure”, is a nuevo Django ensemble that showcases eclectic arrangements of gypsy jazz-based instrumentals, vocal numbers sung in French, Roma, Russian and Punjabi, straight ahead jazz repertoire, a unique blend of film music selections, and its own gypsy jazz-inspired originals.
HCLA 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, popularizing it with his Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1930s Paris.
The group's 2020 release, Cinema Swing, has earned rave reviews. Produced and mastered by the band's drummer, Jim Doyle, and mixed by Kevin Jarvis at Sonic Boom Room, the recording features classic gypsy jazz numbers along with original material composed by group members Carl Byron and Paul Eckman. The band’s upcoming release, Nova, includes new original numbers by members Carl Byron, Jake Bluenote and Josh Workman.
The ensemble's popularity has spread from its acclaimed Monday night residency (est. 2011) at Culver City's Cinema Bar to dance nights at upscale venues such as Clifton’s Brookdale Ballroom, DjangoFest in Las Vegas, Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach, Jazzville in Palm Springs and many other events where the band's up-tempo swing, acoustic shredding and dapper presentation are de rigueur.
HCLA served as the house band for 2017 and 2018 all-star Artists for Peace and Justice benefits, curated by Jackson Browne. At those events, the group backed celebrated artists including Browne, Jeff Bridges, Rufus Wainwright, Gaby Moreno, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, T-Bone Burnett, Rita Wilson, Erica Canales, Petra Haden, Judith Owen, Bill Frisell, Jonathan Wilson, Paul Beaubrun and others.
HCLA has welcomed Jackson Browne for mini-sets at the Cinema Bar; accompanied Gerald Casale of Devo; and has often featured gypsy jazz and trad jazz luminaries such as Pablo Hopenhayn, Leah Zeger, Fabrice Martinez, Nora Germain, Alex Budman, Tommy Davy & Luanne Homzy, Jeff Radaich, Ted Russell Kamp, Jeff Turmes, Bill Barrett, Antoine Salem, John McDuffie and Michael Saucier as special guests.
 
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES MEMBER BIOS

JIM DOYLE (drums/vocal; co-founder)
Jim is a founding member of 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, Gerald Casale (Devo), Ted Russell Kamp, John Nau, Jeff Turmes and Charlie Terrell among many others. Jim’s drums can also be heard on film and TV soundtracks. 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 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 Rita Coolidge, Jackson Browne, Stray Cat Lee Rocker, 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, 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.

PAUL ECKMAN (bass)
Paul is an in-demand upright and electric bass virtuoso and composer. He joined 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”; which feature other notable members, including DJ Bonebrake, Danny Frankel and Debra Dobkin.

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 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 Hot Club of San Francisco and lauded for his supreme command of diverse musical styles, including gypsy jazz. He joined 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.