Djangophonique

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courtesy Djangophonique

A collage of players with Djangophonique.

Djangophonique

media release: Djangophonique is an award winning project that delivers the infectious joy, and expressive freedom that is at the heart of Django Reinhardt’s jazz Manouche. With respect for the tradition and a fearless creativity that bends the conventions of the style, Djangophonique is keeping the Hot Club revival alive and well. The result is a sound that’s unmistakable to fans of the music, and alluring to the uninitiated—a sound that can bring the lively energy of a Parisian dance hall to the quietest listening room or captivate a buzzing festival audience with the aching nostalgia of a shimmering ballad.

For the spring 2026 concert tour, Andrew Brown and Katie Lynne of Djangophonique (Ann Arbor) are joined by Christo Ruppenthal (Madison) and Grant Flick (Ann Arbor). On this route the band is also joined by veteran Michigan based bassist Tom Knific. Together, they explore classics of Django Reinhardt's Hot Club swing sound and the American standard songbook, perform guitar, violin, and steel guitar feature instrumental pieces, and present some exciting examples of fused repertoire that you won't hear elsewhere!

This unique quintet has been well received in historic theaters, large outdoor concert series, festivals, and sold-out nightclub concerts. We've done successful tours together in 2023 and 2024 and shared the stage at the 2024 Ann Arbor Django Reinhardt Festival. Keep an eye out for them in early May 2026!

Christopher “Christo” Ruppenthal is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and entrepreneur whose professional music career started in 2003. He presents a unique mixture of Jazz/Vaudeville era novelty infused hot Hawaiian steel guitar and ukulele playing from the 1910s-30s as well as the swinging sounds of Django Reinhardt’s 1930s and 40s guitar-driven Hot Club jazz. Think, “Hot Hawaiian guitar meets Jazz à la Django!" Christo is an avid recording artist and performer with thousands of gigs, both across the U.S. and internationally, to his credit

Grant Flick is a performer, recording artist, composer, educator, and collaborator currently based in Ann Arbor, MI. He plays many instruments including violin, mandolin, tenor guitar, nyckelharpa, tenor banjo, and viola. Primarily, his interests are new acoustic music, jazz manouche, jazz/swing, bluegrass, and American old-time. His current original music projects, Westbound Situation, Warren & Flick, and Hannah O’Brien and Grant Flick, explore the fusion of chamber music with the influences listed above. In these groups, he writes pieces influenced from many styles that feature the collective spontaneity and imagination of the fellow improvisatory musicians with whom he collaborates.

Bassist, composer, and educator, Tom Knific, has made a life from his diverse musical passions. Classically trained on two continents, and having been drawn to jazz since childhood, he has navigated and flourished in these worlds, leaving a trail of critically acclaimed concerts and recordings, inspired compositions, and a growing roster of students making their own mark on the music scene.