The Music of Django Reinhardt with the Ryan Picone Quartet

The Music of Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt collaborated with several vocalists throughout his career. This show features those pivotal interactions with Jean Sablon, Edith Piaf, and Freddy Taylor.

Dr. Ryan Picone: Lead Guitar

Tessa Nichols Meade: Violin

Carl Johnson: Rhythm Guitar

Matt Blake: Bass

Featuring Vocalists Victoria Temiz & Magge Black!

The Ryan Picone Quartet is a group that was put together to showcase the original compositions of Ryan Picone. The music has been written throughout different time periods in his life, and represents his connection to the music of Django Reinhardt. The band consists of Ryan Picone from The Red Hot Django Peppers, Ian Stenlund from The Mississippi Hot Club, Tessa Nichols Meade from the Cold City Heat, and Matt Blake from the Gentleman’s Anti Temperance League. This group is an all star group that brings together a new transfiguration of Jazz.In 2023 the Ryan Picone Quartet released their debut album titled - I Awake dedicated to the legendary Django Reinhardt. The album has received great praise from the Django community including author Michael Dregni. In 2024 RPQ played their first Django Festival along side with musicians like Joscho Stephan and Sam Farthing.

Minneapolis jazz vocalist Victoria Temiz brings warmth, nuance, and a storyteller’s touch to every performance. Rooted in early jazz and the Great American Songbook, her singing blends elegance with emotional clarity, evoking the intimacy of a bygone era while feeling distinctly her own. Trained in classical voice from an early age, Victoria earned her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Duquesne University before falling in love with jazz’s expressive freedom. Inspired by the phrasing of Ella Fitzgerald and the cinematic beauty of French chanson, she brings both refinement and heart to the stage. She has performed throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, including appearances at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and New York’s Gotham Jazz Festival and regularly appears with her duo Clover Club, exploring the charm and swing of early jazz and blues.

Maggie Black is a piano based singer songwriter from Chicago, whose eclectic style draws from influences such as Suzanne Vega, Jeff Buckley, Fiona Apple, Leonard Cohen, and Amy Winehouse. She is currently recording her first album on an 8 track with the help of the musical maverick Dev Jana. If you ask her about this project she might retreat into the nearest snail's shell and raise a sign that reads "please come back when I'm done," but she promises it'll be done soon.

Review by author; Michael Dregni. "Swinging, sensual, moody, rousing — Ryan Picone Quartet's music follows the trail of Django Reinhardt's Gypsy jazz. Listening to these tracks, you can almost smell the campfire smoke and see the nighttime lights of Paris burning on the horizon. Bon voyage!"

www.ryanpicone.com