Fans of the type of swing pioneered by Gypsy guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt and violinist extraordinaire Stephane Grappelli are in for a treat from a new CD called Yerba Buena Bounce from The Hot Club of San Francisco. The group replicates the all-string instrumentation (three guitars, violin, bass) of Reinhardt’s and Grappelli’s Hot Club de France of the 1930s. The instrumentation isn’t all that’s replicated—this group breathes new life into this slice of jazz with innovative arrangements and inspired playing. Mandolinist David Grisman (who made a terrific record with Grappelli called Live) appears on two tracks.

To top it off, the recording was engineered by Keith Johnson, whom I consider the world’s greatest recording engineer. The music was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California using Keith’s custom microphones and electronics. The HDCD-encoded disc, released on the Reference Recordings label, captures the subtle tonal and dynamic nuances of this wonderful music.