Gypsy jazz musicians from around Puget Sound will celebrate Django Reinhardt’s 108th birthday with an evening of music. The concert will feature two bands, Nuages and Ranger and the ‘Re-Arrangers’, plus guest appearances by other top Seattle Gypsy Jazz musicians, including Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews on clarinet and saxophone. Django was an itinerant Gypsy who earned international acclaim in the 1930’s. Many of his compositions became jazz classics and he is considered one of the top guitar soloists of all time. Duke Ellington referred to Django as “the most creative jazz musician to originate anywhere outside the United States.” Decades later, Jerry Garcia said, “Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at…nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django had.” Nuages features the fiery soprano saxophone of Michael Gurule–it’s like Sidney Bechet and Django Reinhardt got together to jam! Ranger and the ‘Re-Arrangers’ evoke the spirit of a Paris cafe and the raucous energy of a Gypsy campsite. Says violinist Ranger Sciacca: “Our goal is to make this a really fun show, featuring as many great musicians and different instruments as we can!” There is no cover charge, but donations will be accepted.