× On June 24, 2019, more than a million people tuned into the live-stream of Robert Schenkkan’s "The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts."

The star-studded Mueller report play featured 18 actors as current and former members of the Trump cabinet, honing in on the President’s ten instances of potential obstruction of justice.

Mr. Schenkkan has graciously given WICA permission to produce this riveting theatrical event.

× Headlined by Pearl Django/Opened by Hot Club of Troy

× The first part of this workshop will deal with understanding and developing correct, efficient, and precise right hand technique. Christiaan will explain the mechanics of good right hand picking technique: posture, muscle use, precise movements, and tensions in the hands and body. During the second part, he’ll dive into left hand techniques like vibrato, hammer-ons, pull-offs, position changes, and speed.

× Headlined by Hot Club of San Francisco/Opened by Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews

× Details Coming Soon!

× Right hand picking technique is one of the most demanding aspects of playing Gypsy jazz. This workshop will teach you the rest-stroke picking technique used by Django Reinhardt, Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène, and nearly every other Gypsy jazz guitarist. Learning to play with rest-strokes will give you the “Gypsy sound” by dramatically improving your volume, speed, and tone. To help put the rest-stroke technique in context, students will learn several of the most commonly used Gypsy phrases, arpeggios, and chromatic runs, which do not appear in Michael’s book “Gypsy Picking.” Students will also learn basic principles of efficient left hand fingerings which, when used in conjunction with the rest-stroke picking technique, allow one to play with improved speed and articulation. These examples will be included in handouts written in both standard notation and tablature.

Michael Horowitz is the founder of the publishing company and Gypsy jazz retail store DjangoBooks.com and is the author of the books “Gypsy Picking,” “Gypsy Rhythm,” and “Unaccompanied Django.”

× Greg Ruby: The Guitar Artistry of Oscar Alemán – Licks, Solos, and Repertoire

Oscar Alemán’s inimitable style of swing guitar playing reaches back to the earliest days of Hot Club jazz. Before Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli recorded their first notes as the Quintette of Hot Club of France, Alemán was already an in-demand guitarist on the 1930’s Parisian jazz scene—leading Josephine Baker’s backing band, performing with ex-patriot American jazz musicians, and even receiving an offer to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Without question, Ellington was correct when he remarked about Alemán, “this cat has roots.”

While much attention has been given to learn Django’s style, this workshop will demystify and make accessible Oscar’s unique approach to music. In Licks, Solos, and Repertoire, expect to learn some classic Oscar licks, examine an Oscar improvised solo, and add some of his songs to your repertoire.

× How to start and develop a solo in the Gypsy style using Ludovic’s “Three Axis”: understand the context, learn the chords changes, be a good backing player; and learn four ways to approach your solo.

× In this workshop, Chriatiaan will go beyond discussing his Sysytem by applying the concepts to two well-known standards: "All of Me" and "Honeysuckle Rose." By the end of the workshop participants, will know exactly how to sound like professionals on these songs and will have learned a practical way of mastering any song in the future.

× Mathieu will share the history of “La Pompe”, the typical rhythm guitar strumming used in gypsy jazz; work with participants on chord enrichments and interactions with lead players; explore individual’s sounds, habits, and missteps; and, of course, play some standards!

× A primer on the subject of the instruments, setup, and strings, showing students the adjustment process and how to work on their guitars. He’ll also cover amplification and instrument care and storage.

× Join us at a private, waterfront home in Langley for an intimate concert featuring Gismo Graff, his father Joschi, and Simon Planting! Gismo Graf, a shooting star of gypsy swing, has now taken his place among the world's leading guitarists. Gismo's father and mentor Joschi Graf accompanies Gismo on the rhythm guitar and intrigues with his beautiful, sonorous voice. Tickets for this exclusive event are $150. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and libations will be served. Act fast—seating is limited to 50 guests!

× Headlined by Aurore Voilqué Quartet featuring Mathieu Chatelain, Angelo Debarre, and Claudius Dupont/Opened by Christiaan van Hemert

× This advanced rhythm workshop will teach you the sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic devices used by gypsy jazz legends Django Reinhardt, Biréli Lagrène, Stochelo Rosenberg, and others. You will learn rhythmic techniques such as the Shuffle, Long, Hit, Roll, Triplet, Double Time, Tremolo, and Syncopation. Additionally, you will learn how to instantly reharmonize any jazz tune with the following techniques: Adding Tensions, Tritone Substitution, ii-V subs, Gypsy style Turn-Arounds, Line Cliches, and Deceptive cadences. Some of the most advanced and beautiful Gypsy style chord shapes will also be demonstrated.

Michael Horowitz is the founder of the publishing company and Gypsy jazz retail store DjangoBooks.com and is the author of the books “Gypsy Picking,” “Gypsy Rhythm,” and “Unaccompanied Django.”

× An in-depth examination of the techniques and authentic rhythm styles from the Parisian cabaret guitar style and the modern approach of Trio Dinicu. This workshop will cover the musette valse, csardas, Romanian rhythms, Rumba, swing, and proper right hand. The class will also include group participation, coaching, and learning how to comp as a duo and trio. Concepts covered will include: right hand technique, Eastern European rhythms (sarba, geamparale), Russian style, right hand tremolo, embellishments, economy of movement, posture and hand positions, chord substitutions (the gypsy way), chord and bass lines, gypsy picking, and tone.

× Details Coming Soon!

× Christiaan van Hemert: Dutch-style Rhythm Guitar

The focus of this workshop is the rhythm guitar techniques used by Dutch players like Noushe Rosenberg and Stochelo Rosenberg. Christiaan will discuss right hand technique, chord voicings, embellishments, Noushe's 'many chords approach' and Stochelo's 'less-is-more-approach'. Recommended for all levels.

× Jason will introduce a standard swing tune and various classic licks and phrases to help you start improvising over that tune. Phrases will be taught by ear but will be supplemented with sheet music. He’ll also cover various stylistic approaches (vibrato, bowing, etc.) to help you get that authentic swing sound achieved by jazz violin greats like Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti.

× In this workshop, we’ll learn how to break away from stock licks and chord shapes and work on improvising as soloists and accompanists over standards. We’ll also take a good look at technique, tone, and time keeping.

× Headlined by Jason Anick Acoustic Trio with Dallas Vietty/Opened by Greg Rubys

× Gismo Graf with his father Joschu and sister Cheyenne, and special guests Ludovic Beier and Simon Planting

× Details coming soon!

× Minor Swing by Django Reinhardt is the quintessential Gypsy jazz song. For this workshop, Jason will take a deep dive into this classic piece and provide tips and tricks for navigating the harmony.

× How to start and develop a solo in the Gypsy style using Ludovic’s “Three Axis”: understand the context, learn the chords changes, be a good backing player; and learn four ways to approach your solo.

× Greg Ruby: The Guitar Artistry of Oscar Alemán – Accompaniment and the Art of the Out Chorus

Oscar Alemán’s inimitable style of swing guitar playing reaches back to the earliest days of Hot Club jazz. Before Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli recorded their first notes as the Quintette of Hot Club of France, Alemán was already an in-demand guitarist on the 1930’s Parisian jazz scene—leading Josephine Baker’s backing band, performing with ex-patriot American jazz musicians, and even receiving an offer to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Without question, Ellington was correct when he remarked about Alemán, “this cat has roots.”

While much attention has been given to learn Django’s style, this workshop will demystify and make accessible Oscar’s unique approach to music. In Accompaniment and the Art of the Out Chorus, expect to dive into Oscar’s unique accompaniment style of using rhythm, arpeggios, chordal accents, and ostinato figures to back up a soloist. The class will also cover Alemán’s classic Out-Chorus’s melodies to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Bye Bye Blues,” and “I’ve Got Rhythm.”

× During this workshop, Christiaan will explain his system for violin improvisation. The system is very different from the standard academic ways of learning improvisation. It is based on a novel approach that will teach you concepts to make you sound like an authentic jazz improviser while avoiding too much complicated theory. This will enable to the user to employ his creativity while still making (a lot) of harmonic sense. It is recommended for participants to be familiar with chord symbols.

× Christine Tassan and the Djangobelle; DjangoFest Saga Award-Winner Samuel Farthing

The Nick Lehr Memorial Djam