About Me
Formed at the dawn of the Millennium, "The Kings Cross Hot Club" is a unique gathering of two former street musicians, gypsy guitarist Phil Grispo and Bruce Beach, abetted by an impressive array of classically trained musicians, wandering minstrels and an actress turned lead vocalist. With their focus on Gypsy swing augmented by a powerful brass section and expertly executed orchestration, the band has been transformed into an in demand live act. Acclaimed appearances at Italy's Riva Garda Festival, Birmingham Jazz Festival, Wigan International Jazz Festival, Darwen Jazz Festival, The Trimdon Festival, and the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne (where they audaciously followed a heavy metal act without blinking an eye) have been accompanied by a successful series of club and pub dates. The music appeals to every age group. Defining the appeal, guitarist Bruce Beach enthuses "It's Parisian Swing, Django and Gypsies, Piaf and Orchestration, show numbers for Katja, two guitars but no drums, violin, short sharp songs, a band playing tunes - telling a story and recalling a time when people went to a cafe or bar to dance and enjoy themselves". What distinguishes the KCHC from lesser contemporaries is their pronounced eclecticism and willingness to merge popular show tunes, jazz standards and well chosen pre-World War II melodies with the raw guitar influence of Django Reinhardt and a strong emphasis on modern Gypsy swing. As lead guitarist Phil Grispo notes "It's quite bizarre to have 'I'll See You In My Dreams' and some mad Hans Chi Weiss waltz together on the same album, but they've got a similar dynamic. They both go like the clappers but with a different feel. It's funny and it's always a challenge for the producer to put them together". Taking up that challenge is Tony Clark, whose CV boasts work with The Beatles, Stephane Grappelli, Yehudi Menuhin and Sky. The result is an album full of diverse surprises, classics from the great American songbook like Irving Berlin's 'Russian Lullaby', Charlie Chaplin's co written composition 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schn', the gypsy stomp of 'Milko', 'Go My Road' and 'Tchavalo Swing', Katja Prudinsky's expressive vocal on nature boy and even a revved up reading of Kenny Ball's 'Midnight in Moscow'; and they play it all perfectly live. Johnny Rogan (Writer and Critic)
