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The Hot Club of San Francisco is the premier American gypsy jazz band. Led by guitarist, songwriter, and arranger Paul 'Pazzo' Mehling, the ensemble celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s Quintette du Hot Club de France. The HCSF borrows the instrumentation of violin, bass, and guitars from the original Hot Club and performs arrangements of gypsy jazz standards, pop songs, and original compositions by Mehling. The Hot Club of San Francisco features the violin of twice GRAMMY® Award winner Evan Price, the vocals of various members, and a swing rhythm section.

Biography
Mehling's father was a record collector and he developed an affinity for Django Reinhardt's music at a young age. Mehling was also inspired by Dan Hicks and has commented, “When I was a teenager, I saw Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks and he was playing a contemporary blend of The Beatles and Django. I went to see them a lot and listened to their combination of rhythm guitar with jazz violin and tried to figure out how it worked.” Around the same time Mehling began attending Dan Hicks concets, he also developed an interest in bluegrass and folk music. He taught himself violin and mandolin after hearing David Grisman’s Dawg Music, a blend of swing and bluegrass that became known as ‘newgrass.’ After graduating from high school in Santa Cruz, Mehling landed his first gig as a professional musician playing rhythm guitar and banjo with Jake Stock and the Abalone Stompers, a New Orleans style traditional Dixieland jazz band that had a regular Friday performance at the Catalyst venue in Santa Cruz. He freelanced with The Santa Cruz Symphony on viola and played in jazz and swing combos, including The Magnolia Jazz Band and The Hot Club of Friends, his first gypsy jazz group.

In 1981, Mehling took a break from the Abalone Stompers to bicycle across Europe. In Holland, he saw a live performance by Waso, a band from Belgium that played gypsy jazz. Mehling has commented, “Fapy Lafertin was the lead guitarist and he was playing Django solos note for note, then he’d take off and start improvising. It was galvanizing. I didn’t think anyone could really play Django’s style and I realized it’s no secret. You just have to know how to do it. I decided I’d have to come back to Europe if I was going to learn how to play gypsy guitar.” Mehling traveled to Paris to further develop his gypsy jazz guitar technique and feel with Django-style guitarist Serge Krief. Mehling and Krief frequently performed in Paris metro stations. Mehling has stated that Krief's emphasis on the importance of emotion, mystery, and romance in gypsy music had a lasting impact on his development as a musician. In 1985, Mehling joined Dan Hicks as lead guitarist for his band, The Acoustic Warriors. He stayed with the band until 1990, appearing with them on the PBS show Austin City Limits

Works and Recognition
Nationally broadcast performances of the HCSF include the Public Radio Exchange's WoodSongs series and Stanford Libraries' Riverwalk Collection. A story on NPR station KQED featured Mehling and his contributions to the study of gypsy jazz guitar technique and christened him “the Godfather of Gypsy Jazz in the US.” Mehling's "Django-style Gypsy Jazz Guitar" instructional videos won the 1997 citation for excellence in Jazz Education by The International Association for Jazz Education. Mehling produced the band’s first album, on their own label, Hot Club Records. They’ve since released 15 albums of gypsy-flavored jazz. In 2000, The Hot Club of San Francisco became the first American band invited to play the Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine, the largest and most prestigious festival dedicated to the music of Django Reinhardt. The current lineup (2022) is anchored by Mehling and violinist Evan Price. In a 2018 article from Strings Magazine, alumna Jenny Scheinman said, “The Hot Club of San Francisco is a central part of San Francisco culture, it embodies and magnifies San Francisco’s connection to French culture and its bohemian whimsy. It’s kind of a cultural landmark, like Coit Tower or the clown on Pier 39.” Mehling appeared in the 2005 film "Jeremy Cohen and Friends Celebrate Joe Venuti" and performed on the soundtrack of the 2014 film My Old Lady.