Cinema Vivant at the Strand Theatre

An evening of entertaining early silent movies with live jazz music.

Hot Club of San Francisco, Gypsy Jazz, 

presents Cinema Vivant at the Strand Theatre

Accomplished and versatile musicians, Hot Club of San Francisco celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pioneering Hot Club de France with style and panache. The group borrows the instrumentation of violin, bass and guitars from the original Hot Club while breathing new life into the music with innovative arrangements and original compositions from their superb lead guitarist Paul Mehling. Featuring the amazing violin of two-time Grammy Award winner Evan Price and a swinging rhythm section.

A celebration of imagination and history, Cinema Vivant combines live music and silent film in a synchronized screen experience that’s as unique as it is entertaining.

Hot Club of San Francisco revives the lost entertainment style of European filmmaker Ladislaw Starewicz—pre-World War I pioneer of stop-action animation and modern day cult hero—playing their guitars and fiddles to match every movement on the screen with characteristic virtuosity, passion and humor. Imagine yourself in the idyllic French countryside of the 1930s and enjoy an evening of watching silent movie characters flicker to life to a lively gypsy swing sound, with French wines offered at intermission.

The evening will feature two Starewicz films—The Cameraman's Revenge, a charming piece about the marital troubles of beetles and The Mascot, an adventure story about lost toys. The third film, There It Is, a recently rediscovered film by 1920s revolutionary American filmmaker Charley Bowers, is a whimsical comedy about a mysterious occurrence investigated by Scotland Yard that combines animation with live action.

Save the date and come hear what San Francisco Chronicle calls “…one of the most cohesive and entertaining gypsy bands in the United States.” Saturday, May 11, 2013, 7 p.m. at the Strand Theatre, Rockland. Tickets $40; Ages 21-35, $30: Under 21, $10. 7 p.m., Purchase online at www.baychamberconcerts.org, in Rockport at Bay Chamber Concerts offices, Shepherd Block building, by phone, 207-236-2823, or at the Strand Theatre box office, starting one hour before the event. Presented by Bay Chamber Concerts. Bay Chamber Concerts presents music year-round at a variety of venues in Midcoast Maine.