Minneapolis-St. Paul ensemble Sidewalk Café plays the music popularized by guitarist Django Reinhart and legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli of the Hot Club of France in 1930s Paris. This swinging music is a favorite of all ages and is making a major comeback, championed particularly by young Lindy enthusiasts and the burgeoning dance community.
The three members of Sidewalk Cafe include Prairie Home Companion veteran Gary Schulte, one of this country’s top jazz violinists; jazz guitar virtuoso Reynold Philipsek, a favorite of jazz great Pat Martino; and bassist Jeff Brueske, who is in great demand playing with Gypsy jazz groups as well as modern jazz, fusion, and swing ensembles in the Twin Cities.
Sidewalk Cafe keeps listeners on the edge of their chairs with no two performances alike. Like the three legs of a stool, the trio is a consummate balance that can tolerate no dead weight. Here all three performers take chances and plumb the depths. The result is reveting and original. Of their frequent performances at Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, former curator Jeremy Walker says: “Sidewalk Cafe is hard-swinging group that plays with bravado and passion that transcends the genre and captures its fundamental appeal and excitement."
