Gaucho
"Gaucho has its own feel," group's founder Dave Ricketts says. "It has a Gypsy jazz sound, but we don't focus on that rhythm. I'm not trying to say we're reinventing swing, but we've got our own signature. We also find inspiration in the rhythmic drive and collective improvisation of New Orleans swing music, that great gut bucket sound."
Originally a trio featuring Ricketts, guitarist Michael Groh and stand-up bassist Ari Munkres, Gaucho quickly attracted a dazzling cast of improvisers including accordion ace Rob Reich, drummer/percussionist Pete Devine (who gained a national following with the ragtime trio Bo Grumpus and recently started Devine's Jug Band), and reed expert Ralph Carney, a brilliantly expressive player best known for his many recordings with Tom Waits. The repertoire ranges from early American Songbook standards and classic blues to vintage Latin American hits and Tin Pan Alley pop numbers.
Pearl
(2010)
First impressions can be deceiving. On Gaucho's fourth album (and second release for Porto Franco Records), the San Francisco sextet sounds like it's unearthed a treasure trove of forgotten songs from Jazz Age and Swing Era. But a closer look reveals that only two of the dozen deliriously swinging tunes are standards. The other ten are the result of an inspired collaboration between Gaucho's lead guitarist and founder Dave Ricketts and vocalist Tamar Korn, one of the freshest and most exciting new voices on the New York scene. While still in her 20s, she possesses a playfully pure tone that evokes speakeasies and bootleg gin without hinting at nostalgia, a sound tailor made for Gaucho's singular synthesis of New Orleans polyphony and ebullient Gypsy jazz. More than the album's muse, Korn wrote the lyrics to a set of new tunes that Ricketts started composing after she sat in with the band.
Korn isn't the only special guest adding a jolt of energy to the Pearl proceedings. Guitarist Vic Wong, a Gypsy jazz specialist, contributes some beautifully calibrated fretwork. But the key ringer is the great trad cornetist Leon Oakley, a supremely expressive, criminally underexploited jazz master who cut his teeth as a Turk Murphy sideman from 1968-79. Nimbly conjuring the spirit of Satchmo, Oakley contributes solos and fills that are models of lyrical concision. It's the Gaucho aesthetic, which prizes elegance of expression and savvy ensemble interplay over displays of technical prowess.
Deep Night
(2009)
With Deep Night, the San Francisco sextet Gaucho takes its rightful place as one of the most creative and joyously syncopated ensembles inspired by legendary Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. The group's third album, Deep Night was recorded live at Amnesia, where for the past seven years, Gaucho has held down a regular Wednesday night gig. Over the years the hip Mission District nightspot has become an invaluable proving ground for Bay Area bands. As the first group hired by club owner Shawn McGee, Gaucho launched the club's music policy and earned a devoted following with a combination of zany humor, playful irreverence and deadly serious musicianship.