PERFORMING ARTS

Django Reinhardt Festival

The Django Reinhardt Festival at the Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club on Friday night couldn't have made Franco-American relations seem more harmonious.

Though the transatlantic array of talent was weighted in favor of French musicians, the arrangements neatly accommodated all six players. The center of focus was French guitar virtuoso Dorado Schmitt. Beginning with a Reinhardt favorite, the pop standard "I'll See You in My Dreams," Schmitt displayed complete mastery of Gypsy jazz guitar technique while frequently alluding to the trademark elements of Reinhardt's style: darting arpeggios, fretboard-sweeping slides, half- and whole-note bends, sparkling harmonics, vocal-like phrasing. Schmitt's son Samson mostly played rhythm guitar in swing time, more often than not with propulsive power. When he played lead, however, he dashed off single note lines with clarity and verve. Tel pere, tel fils .

The performance, hosted and nimbly underscored by bassist Brian Torff, also pointed to Reinhardt's ties to Stephane Grappelli -- whenever violinist Pierre Blanchard's deft touch and singing tone was showcased -- and referenced swing-era recordings made on this side of the Atlantic. Indeed, saxophonist Joel Frahm never sounded more soulful than when performing "Body and Soul," conjuring a resonating warmth that recalled Coleman Hawkins's definitive version of the tune.

Heightening the Gallic swing mood on "Sweet Sue" and other tunes was accordionist Ludovic Beier, who also contributed the evening's loveliest original composition, "Souvenir of Autumn." Rendered as a duet, the reflective ballad was subtly enhanced by Samson Schmitt's altered guitar tuning.

-- Mike Joyce

Duke Ellington Celebration

"From Harlem to Hollywood," the Duke Ellington celebration presented at the National Museum of American History's Carmichael Auditorium on Saturday night, began on a familiar note, with seven musicians drawn from the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra inviting listeners to "Take the 'A' Train." From that point on, however, there was no telling what the next stop would be.

Affably hosted by Loren Schoenberg, pianist, reedman, educator and irrepressible raconteur, the program wouldn't have disappointed anyone who wished to reminisce in tempo. After all, there was no shortage of Ellington hits, including largely improvised versions of "Satin Doll," "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" and "Caravan." But what made the concert special were the wonderful obscurities that kept surfacing. Each displayed another facet of Ellington's genius as the septet charted his course from dance halls to film work. Schoenberg noted that some of the pieces the Ellington band rarely performed would have provided other orchestras with long-lasting meal tickets. His point was colorfully underscored by such sparkling gems as "Savoy Strut" and "Reflections in D."

Some of the orchestral pieces were imaginatively rearranged for four horns by Chris Madsen -- no small task given the harmonic complexity of the original scores. Whether playing alone or together, trumpeter John Eckert, trombonist Willie Applewhite, alto saxophonist/clarinetist Marty Nau and baritone saxophonist Scott Silbert consistently evoked the maestro's extraordinary tonal palette. Schoenberg (on piano, almost exclusively), bassist James King and drummer Kenneth Kimery contributed additional idiomatic touches and a vibrant swing pulse.