Famed Minnesota guitarist Sam Miltich and his Clearwater Hot Club compile an all-star cast of musicians to celebrate the music of Duke Ellington and Adelaide Hall. Ellington and Hall were major figures in the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s, embarking on a decades-long professional collaboration and headlining together at New York's famed Cotton Club.   The show features jazz vocalist Charmin Michelle summoning the spirit of Hall, blending the power and soul of a legendary vocalist with her own modern-day sense of swing and sophistication. Read more.

The Clearwater Hot Club is a dedicated to preserving the repertoire and instrumentation of the Jazz Manouche style pioneered by Manouche Roma jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.  Much of the repertoire played in this group are songs either performed or written by Django Reinhardt, though other styles of music such as French Musette, Brazilian choro, and Eastern European folk music are interpreted through the musical lense and technique of the Jazz Manouche style. In recent years Sam Miltich has written original works of music in the jazz manouche style, giving creadance to the roots and traditions of the music while bringing a fresh new voice to it.  Read more.

When trying to formulate a program of how to highlight these shared aesthetics, and skill, Charmin and Sam were both drawn to and inspired by the true masters who have come before them, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. The absence of a traditional rhythm section demands complete command of harmonic and rhythmic structures of songs while also allowing Sam the freedom to weave a tapestry of melody, harmony, rhythm, and improvisation. This provides the backdrop to Charmin's complete command, dedication, and integrity of the songs melody. 

Sam's fluid and instinctive sound has graced hundreds of stages, from small towns on the Iron Range to New York's Lincoln Center. In addition to gypsy swing and traditional jazz Sam's musical interests include Brazilian choro, French musette, Eastern European tamburitza, and other forms of traditional folk music.