StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: St. Louis Gypsy Jazz Festival

If you dig guitarist Django Reinhardt, you'll want to have a look at the bands and musicians performing in the first-ever St. Louis Gypsy Jazz Festival, which will take place this coming Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25 at Evangeline's.

Organized by singer Eve Seltzer and her husband, guitarist Ben Wood, both of the band Franglais, the event will include three nights of evening performances and late-night jam sessions, with brunch-time shows added on Saturday and Sunday, all featuring jazz played in the style pioneered in the 1930s by Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli.

In addition to Franglais (pictured, lower left) the musical lineup will include St. Louis' own Coco Rico, plus visiting acts including accordionist Dallas Vietty, singer Miles Griffith, and the bands Swing '39 and Bedlam Swing, as well any other special guests who may turn up for the jam sessions.

You can see Franglais in the first video up top, performing the 1918 standard "After You've Gone" in a Gypsy jazz style.

After the jump, there's a clip of Vietty with the band Gypsy Roots playing "Limehouse Blues," a 1922 tune famously done by Reinhardt. This version was recorded in 2012 at the Ironhorse in Ashland, VA.

Next is Miles Griffith singing "Toot Toot Tootsie" with some help from pianist Kirk Nurock. The clip was made in 2009 at NYC's Symphony Space as part of a series devoted to the arts during the year 1939.

Below that, you can check out an undated video of Bedlam Swing playing "Putting on the Ritz"; Swing '39's version of "I Got Rhythm," recorded in June 2014 at an outdoor concert in Louisville, KY; and Coco Rico, with guest clarinetist Chloe Feoranzo, doing their version of "Lady Be Good."

For complete schedule information and the latest updates, visit the St. Louis Gypsy Jazz Festival's Facebook page.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...