Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Langley
September 17-21

In the introduction to an anthology recording of Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, Frank Vignola quotes guitarist Tony Mottola: “A day without hearing a guitar being played is like a day without sunshine.”

Western Washingtonians know all about days without sunshine. And, with our city’s musical history, most of us also know a thing or two about the guitar. So, if you’re looking for a few solid days of not having to go without hearing one (and, given the dates, a reasonably good chance of sunshine too), head to DjangoFest NorthWest at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, September 17-21.

Now in its fourteenth year, DjangoFest NorthWest is a five-day-long festival dedicated to the life and legacy of Django Reinhardt. The schedule includes a host of performances and workshops featuring world-class artists who continue to keep Reinhardt’s legacy alive more than six decades after his death.

Django Reinhardt, of course, was the Sinté Gypsy/Roma musician born in a travelling caravan in Belgium and raised in encampments outside Paris who took that city’s musical world by storm in the 1920s and 30s. To say that he was a rare individual is to understate the obvious. His musical talent (and determination) kept him out of harm’s way during Hitler’s reign (when over a half-million Roma were sent to concentration camps) and blew away American jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington – even after suffering an injury in a fire that paralyzed two fingers on his left (fret-board) hand. What’s more, Django’s uniqueness was such that his style spawned its own name – Gypsy jazz – and a devoted, worldwide following as strong today as it ever was.

The festival’s main event is doubtless Saturday evening’s Gypsy jazz “super band” concert with Dutch guitarists Stochelo and Mozes Rosenberg, Belgian violinist Florin Niculescu, and bassist Simon Planting. It’s a rare – in fact, singular – opportunity to see these players (all considered among the best at their craft) perform together. (According to the festival’s website, no other performances featuring this line up are scheduled in North America.)

Friday evening’s concert features the Tcha Limberger trio with guitarist Benjamin Clement and bassist Csikos Vilmosmost. Described as a “walking, singing pillar of Gypsy knowledge and culture … [that] blends influences from all the myriad and various styles of Gypsy song,” Limberger will be sure to wow audiences with his virtuosic skill on both violin and guitar. Local Gypsy jazz heroes Pearl Django, who’ve played every DjangoFest NorthWest ever held, will help set the ambience for Limberger’s trio this year with a set in the Friday matinee slot.

The Rhythm Future Quartet featuring Jason Anick and Olli Soikkeli takes the stage Sunday afternoon. The Wall Street Journal has described Soikkeli as a “riveting” guitarist who’s “among the worthiest current day successors to the legacy of the great Django,” while Anick has been lauded by the Boston Globe as possessing a “compositional voice [that] is as distinctive as his virtuosic playing.” Got chops? Indeed they do, and they’ll likely be on full display after the Leah Zeger Quartet with Gonzalo Bergara warms up the stage.

Guitarist Robin Nolan and his trio, featuring Kevin Nolan on rhythm guitar and Simon Planting on bass, hit the stage Thursday evening. They’re sure to leave the audience with no doubt as to why George Harrison championed Nolan’s music when his (Harrison’s) gardener played him a CD he picked up after hearing Nolan play in Amsterdam. His most recent recording, Gypsy Blues, has been earning Nolan steady accolades since its 2013 release. Ivan Peña’s quintet featuring strings, horns, and reeds opens.

All this merely scratches the surface of a truly global affair. Whidbey Island may not be Paris, but with 15 performances and 19 workshops (covering just about every Gypsy jazz topic you can imagine, and all open to the public), DjangoFest NorthWest is sure to be both a fitting tribute to where this music came from and a fine display of where it’s headed.

Full schedule, including list of workshops, and tickets available at djangofest.com/home/djangofest-northwest2014.