After a quarter century, the mighty engine of rhythm that is Pearl Django is still hittin’ on all five: accordionist and recording engineer David Lange, violinist Michael Gray, guitarists Tim Lerch and Jim Char, and bassist Rick Leppanon.
The gypsy jazz quintet opened its 25th anniversary studio session on Jan. 2 with "For Sephora" by Stochelo Rosenberg, of Holland’s Rosenberg Trio.
Then it was time for questions.
Listeners wanted to know the origin of the Pearl Django name (not quite what you’d think), whether they’d ever actually attempted a Pearl (d)Jam song, and what they’d play for Django Reinhardt if he could be brought forward in time.
The group’s second tune was a tribute to founding member, guitarist Dudley Hill, "Floyd Hoyt Rides Again."
Some more listener questions followed, then the final song of the session, "Under Paris Skies."
