Pearl Django

Pearl Django is a jazz group established in 1994 in Tacoma, Washington by guitarists Neil Andersson and Dudley Hill^[1] and bassist David "Pope" Firman. The group melds the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with American Swing. Initially a trio, they have changed and added members over the years and are now a quintet. Based in Seattle, they have played around the United States, as well as in France and Iceland.

Pearl Django
Pearl Django at Jazz Alley in 2025. From left to right: David Lange, Michael Gray, Tim Lerch, Jim Char and Rick Leppanen
Background information
Origin	Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Gypsy swing swing revival
Years active	1994 (1994)–present
Labels	Modern Hot Records
Members	Tim Lerch Michael Gray Rick Leppanen David Lange Jim Char
Past members	Neil Andersson Troy Chapman Ron Peters Greg Ruby Pete Krebs Dudley Hill Shelley D. Park David Firman Ryan Hoffman
Website	pearldjango.com

The band has performed at the prestigious Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois-sur-Seine and at Juan de Fuca Festival.^[2] They have played with Martin Taylor,^[3] Bucky Pizzarelli,^[4] and Gail Pettis, a two-time recipient of the Earshot Jazz 'Jazz Vocalist Of The Year' award.^[5] The British virtuoso Taylor turns up on three tracks of their 2011 album Eleven. On their twelfth album, Time Flies, released in 2015, all tracks are their own compositions except for one classic bossa nova.^[6]

Discography

Released	Title	Label	Notes
1995	Le Jazz Hot	Modern Hot Records
1997	New Metropolitan Swing	Modern Hot Records
1999	Mystery Pacific	Modern Hot Records
1999	Souvenirs	Modern Hot Records
2000	Avalon	Modern Hot Records
2002	Under Paris Skies	Modern Hot Records
2003	Swing 48	Modern Hot Records
2005	Chasing Shadows	Modern Hot Records
2007	Modern Times	Modern Hot Records
2010	Hotel New Yorker	Modern Hot Records	Compilation from 1995 to 1999 releases
2010	Système D	Modern Hot Records
2012	Eleven	Modern Hot Records
2015	Time Flies	Modern Hot Records
2017	With Friends Like These	Modern Hot Records	All original compositions
2019	Pearl Django Live	Modern Hot Records
2020	Simplicity	Modern Hot Records	All original compositions