One Leg Up
Contact Information:
Steve Trismen
(828) 226-2963
www.onelegupjazz.com
Appearances
Festivals
- Bele Cher Festival, Asheville, NC
- Greenville, SC Mainstreet Jazz
- Biltmore Estate Flower Carpet Event
- Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival
- South Carolina Jazz Festival, Cheraw, SC
- Savannah, GA Jazz Festival
- Lake Eden Arts Festival, Swannanoa, NC
- Taste of Charlotte, NC
- Nouveau Night for Asheville Downtown Association
- Peabody Wine Festival
- Asheville Film Festival
- Downtown After 5, Asheville, NC
- Shelby, NC Art of Sound
- Knoxville, TN Jazz Society Concert
- River Run Film Festival
Listening Rooms & Dances
- Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC
- Savannah, GA Jazz Society Concert
- Columbia, SC Museum of Art Concert
- Triangle Swing Dance Society, Durham, NC
- Grey Eagle Music Hall, Asheville, NC
- Tosco Music Party, Charlotte, NC
- UNCA Concert on the Quad
- John C. Campell Folk School, Brasstown, NC
- Georgia Tech Swing Dance Association
- Jazz in the Park, St. Simons Island, GA
Press Sheet
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, One Leg Up performs a vibrant mixture of upbeat Gypsy Jazz, Latin, Swing and original jazz compositions. They are a favorite of club, concert, and festival stages throughout the southeastern United States.
One Leg Up—John Stineman (guitar, vocals), Jim Tanner (Guitar), Zack Page (bass), Mike Guzalak (Clarinet, Sax) and Steve Trismen (violin, vocals)—formed in 2003 as a “String Swing” band in the style of famed French gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Propelled by their excellent self-produced debut recording “Gypsy Blue,” they soon won critical acclaim for their “hot club” prowess and were tapped to back up award-winning Spanish guitarist Pere Soto on some of his 2005 U.S. tour dates. Also in 2005, One Leg Up performed at a concert and book show with Michael Dregni, author of Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend.
Over the years, One Leg Up has broadened its repertoire to include fresh arrangements of Django classics, vocal harmonies, original compositions, and innovative adaptations of classic jazz numbers in the French “hot club” and American “big band” styles. Now more than just a Django band, their latest recording “Pere La Chaise” is a music mix that is danceable and accessible. One Leg Up continues to attract a growing, varied, and enthusiastic fan base with music that always swings.
Reviews
“One Leg Up is a ticket back in time to 1930s Paris and the glory years of Django Reinhardt. Listening to their music, you can taste the red wine, relish the glamour of the City of Lights, and feel the deep vibe of Gypsy jazz. Vas-y! Vas-y!”
- Michael Dregni, author of Django: the Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
“One Leg Up’s originality also stems from the group being ‘collective stars.’ Like an astute big band, One Leg Up’s musicians are equally luminescent. At any moment a violin, guitar, or clarinet would take center stage, creating a stir... Also, the twin guitars of John Stineman and Jim Tanner revamped those bygone Django chords first strummed in pre-WWII Parisian clubs. And they can sing! …Guitarist John Stineman delicately rendered the ode of patient love “Exactly Like You”. My only complaint was having to leave.
- Hunter Pope, reviewer Mountain Express, Asheville, NC