Django Music is a new release by the Norwegian group Hot Club De Norvege. It is their eighteenth release as a group and there is no sign of dust or rust in their performance. The band was formed in 1979 by Jon Larsen. The original group included all the present members as well as violinist Ivar Brodahl (1928-2003) who played with the group from 1980 to 1986. The music, as you would expect includes Reinhardt compositions. The group has also included three traditional folk songs, one Norwegian and two Jewish, a fusion of Gypsy and Klezmer rhythms. There are also the well known jazz standards "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" (Porter) as well as "I Can’t Give You (Anything But Love)" composed by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. A total of thirteen tracks all with a distinctive Gypsy swing feel performed in a laid back contemporary hip manner.

The song "Blue Drag" by Myrow is a blues that Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli recorded. It’s included in Django Music, it is similar to the Django version but more up lifting. The guitar work of Jon Larsen steps outside the Django genre and adds Flamenco and classical embellishments. The drag part, a glide on the strings is given a little more vibrato, the violin plucks the strings as harmonic percussion. A classical concerto with an underlying swing feel gives "Blue Drag" its contemporary arrangement.

There is an original song included on the album, "Echo" by guitarist Per Frydenlund. This is a laid back melancholy ballad that features outstanding guitar playing. There is also a harmonica feature by Finn Hauge. Wonderful chromatic harmonica playing in a grand manner that is reminiscent of the style of Toots Thielemans.

The traditional sounding folk song "Joseph Joseph" is a hyper active Klezmer meets Gypsy swing tune that starts off with great power chords and progresses into a bolt of lightning. Fast and wild, the quartet plays as a twenty piece string orchestra performing at an eastern European wedding reception.

The CD Django Music by the Hot Club De Norvege is music that maintains a fresh and vibrant feel. As a bonus the CD includes a booklet of photography. Entitled, On The Road Again, a jazz road documentary by Jon Larsen. The band is on the road a lot, they apparently tour in their HOTmobile, a station wagon pictured at the back of the booklet. The twelve page booklet features photos (over one hundred) from the HOTmobile of the scenery discovered while traveling from gig to gig. And still the music sounds fresh - after all those kilometers.