Tim Kliphuis and Jimmy Grant Perform Gypsy Jazz

For its second concert of the 2024 season, Shelter Island Friends of Music presents the acclaimed Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis and dazzling guitarist Jimmy Grant on Saturday, March 2, at 3 p.m. in a free concert at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. The pair will be recreating the swinging gypsy jazz sound of the famed musical duo Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt, as well as music from Bach and Paganini.

Grappelli and Reinhardt invented the gypsy jazz sound of the “Hot Club of France” in the 1930s. Kliphuis and Grant have been bringing the exciting music of this famous duo to modern audiences around the world.

The award-winning Kliphuis is a master in classical and jazz and has performed with legends Frankie Gavin, Richard Galliano and Les Paul, and was awarded the international Scottish Jazz Award. He is also a composer and an author of the best-selling book “Gypsy Jazz Violin” and has collaborated with the Richard Strauss Festival, Netherlands and Tallinn Chamber Orchestras, and the Cape Town Philharmonic. He has numerous recordings, and recently signed a Sony Classical recording contract.

Grant’s musical roots are in bluegrass, folk, Celtic and classical guitar, but his main interest is in the music of Django Reinhardt. Grant studied with acclaimed jazz guitarists Jim Nichols and Howard Alden, and has performed with David Grisman and European musicians Ludovic Beier (accordion) and Paulus Schäfer (guitarist), as well as the Hot Club of San Francisco. He has toured with Velvet Caravan and currently leads his own quartet. His main musical influences are Bach, Joe Pass and Benny Goodman.

This is Shelter Island Friends of Music’s 47th consecutive season, which will feature at least seven concerts. There is no admission fee, but donations are always appreciated. A reception with the musicians follows the concert.

Visit shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org for more information and the calendar for the rest of the 2024 season. Shelter Island Presbyterian Church is at 32 North Ferry Road (Route 114), Shelter Island.