The Piedmont Hot Club
The Piedmont Hot Club pay homage to the music of legendary Manouche-French guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt. Django is to this day the most significant jazz musician from Europe and his influence has spread across the world with musicians on all continents playing his music.
The Piedmont Hot Club was formed to reignite Django’s music in the Piedmont region, a tradition started in the 1990s by Rex Griffin and Scot Wise, guitarists & co-founders of The Hot Club of North Carolina.
Brad Cokendolpher (guitar) is the founder and leader of The Piedmont Hot Club. Brad began his musical journey in the fourth grade with bluegrass banjo, inspired by his great uncle. He later picked up the guitar in college and has since been in a number of bands in the Piedmont region including the Hot Club of North Carolina, Clare Fader and The Vaudevillians, and as multi-instrumentalist and vocalist with The Darnell Woodies. Django continues to be his greatest musical inspiration.
Martha Bassett (guitar) has fronted multiple NC bands, playing swing, bossa nova, and Americana music. She hosts The Martha Bassett Show, which is a bi-monthly live musical variety show at the Reeves Theater in Elkin that features national, regional, and local musicians. TMBS is currently broadcast on radio throughout central and western NC, TN, KY, and VA.
David Ford (clarinet) began playing the recorder in elementary school, picked up the clarinet in junior high, and soon fell in love with the instrument and the music — from Brahms sonatas to Bugs Bower’s bop duets. David went on to study classical clarinet at Northwestern University with legendary teachers Clark Brody and Robert Marcellus, and afterwards performed in orchestras, and small jazz clubs throughout the interior of Mexico. Since 2002, David has made his home in Winston Salem, and is a well-known anchor on local NPR affiliate WFDD. David enjoys few things more than performing great live music with friends and sharing those moments with small, appreciative audiences.
Jacqui Carrasco (violin) has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, and Russia, and in styles as diverse as Argentine tango, jazz, and avant-garde new music. As a proponent of new music, Ms. Carrasco has premiered works in major venues like Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and the Library of Congress as well as alternative spaces like Roulette and the Knitting Factory. Since 1999, she has taught at Wake Forest University, where she is currently Professor and Chair of the Music Department. Ms. Carrasco also performs and records extensively with the North Carolina-based Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble.
Patrick Lawrence (double bass) is from Fort Wayne IN. He graduated from Vandercook College of Music in Chicago and spent many years in the jazz and improvised music community there before moving to the South. Pat serves as producer of The Martha Bassett Show. He loves cooking, Flying drones, and taking long walks on the beach. He has a pet pig named Yoshi.
