Clinton Pelletier and Daniel Gervais first had the idea of creating a Gypsy Jazz project in 2003. Clinton was recording his debut album at the time and he wanted to include one Gypsy Jazz selection, After You’ve Gone. A final jury experience at Grant MacEwan College in which there was a Gypsy Jazz segment also spurred their interest in this genre. After this jury, they decided to record a demo consisting of Minor Swing, Snowflake Waltz and Bryant’s Bounce. This demo project proved to be a rewarding experience but they both felt the need to further immerse themselves in this music before continuing with a full-length album. Over the next four years, they practiced intensively and even more importantly, participated in as many Gypsy Jazz jam sessions as possible. A trip to Europe in the spring of 2006 allowed them to experience Gypsy Jazz from the very source. Inspired at the site of Stéphane Grappelli’s columbarium in Paris at the “Cimetière Père Lachaise”, Daniel composed Hommage à Grappelli. Hot Club Edmonton was formed in May 2009. Although this music is a lifetime work, Clinton and Daniel felt prepared enough at this point to tackle a debut album. The recording included many special guests from Edmonton and the surrounding areas including Thea Neumann, Jeremiah McDade, Calvin Vollrath, Cam Neufeld, Mike Lent, Travis Switzer, Brad Tebble, Curtis Ebner and Jason Kodie.
In the summer of 2009, Clinton and Daniel returned to France for a tour with the French-Canadian dance troupe Zéphyr. On this trip, they were fortunate to meet a wonderful French Gypsy Jazz violinist, Matthias Guerry.
This musical encounter led to an impromptu concert/jam for the mayor and other guests of the town of Marennes. This authentic experience in France was an excellent background for the completion of the album in November 2009. Although Clinton and Daniel had performed many Gypsy Jazz concerts before, the very first Hot Club Edmonton performance was at the Fête fransaskoise in July of 2009, received with rave reviews from the audience.
Although Clinton and Daniel are not Gypsy musicians themselves, there are certain parallels between their world and that of Django’s and Stéphane’s. Firstly, they both have French heritage. Secondly, like the Gypsy peoples, their lives as professional musicians include a lot of traveling. Finally, having grown up in the Country and Western Swing scenes, they were exposed to and developed an appreciation for improvisation at an early age. Just as Gypsy Jazz was shaped within the context of Paris in the 1930s, the Hot Club Edmonton sound could be described as a product of Gypsy Jazz combined with Western Canadian musical influences. They are passionate about this engaging genre of music and hope to perpetuate this style across Western Canada and abroad while striving to present Gypsy Jazz in the most authentic way possible.