Just got back from a 3.5-week tour across the U.S. with Tim Kliphuis and it was quite the run. One of the final concerts brought us to Baltimore—in my opinion one of the most underrated cities in the country. The people are authentic, hospitable, and genuinely care about each other. A pretty great way to wrap up the tour. Big thanks to Michael Joseph Harris for bringing us out. While touring I wasn’t able to post as many lessons as I’d like, but now that I’m back I’ll be adding more content here soon—some new material on rhythm, phrasing, and a few tunes we were playing on the road. In the meantime, keep working on the lessons already here, and feel free to post videos of your progress. I love seeing what everyone is working on. Next up we’ll be in Atlanta (GA), Athens (GA), and Carrboro (NC) from March 18–22. I’d love to see some of you there! I’ll also be doing workshops in Carrboro on March 21. I’m also thinking of doing a free lesson on the tune “Swing Gitane.” Let me know in the poll below if that’s a tune you’d like to learn!

Hello Everyone, This year we’ve got an amazing lineup: Paulus Schäfer, Tim Kliphuis, Sam Farthing, Eva Slongo, and Simon Planting will be joining us on bass for October 8–9. We’ve also made a few changes this year. We now have the entire Columbia hotel reserved for the camp, which means the late-night jam sessions are officially back on (and yes… that means jamming overnight). There’s also a new system for booking rooms. After you purchase tuition, you’ll receive a link where you can reserve your room directly. Rooms are limited — we only have 20 available, so if you’re planning to stay at the hotel, I recommend booking early. That said, staying at the hotel is not required to attend the camp. I’ll also be arranging discounted rates at a nearby hotel, which I’ll share soon. You can check out the details and register here: CAMP DJANGO! Hope to see some of you there!🎸

Come practice and jam with Eva Slongo and me! 🎻🎸 Some folks even record themselves and share their versions — we love seeing what everyone comes up with.

Yo Jimmy, If “night and day” in key of c, The b part goes from “Eb^7 to C^7 How to? D

Hello Everyone, I just released a brand new lesson in the classroom: “Minor Swing: One Lick Does It All!” In this lesson I break down six great lines from Django Reinhardt’s solo on Minor Swing—specifically the 1949 recording. This was actually one of the first Django solos I ever learned, and these phrases have stuck with me ever since. What I like about these licks is how practical they are. Many of them have dual purposes: they work great over minor chords, but can also be used over dominant chords with just a small adjustment. Because of that, they’re the kind of lines you can learn once and then start using all over the place. In the lesson I break each lick down slowly, explain how it fits over the harmony, and show how you can start adapting the ideas for other situations. The class is available in the classroom, for members, or if you'd just like to purchase the class by itself. Enjoy!