UNC Asheville to Host the John Jorgensen Quintet;
Acclaimed Gypsy Jazz Band Considered Pioneers of the Genre

UNC Asheville will host master guitarist, composer and arranger John Jorgensen and his band for a night of Gypsy jazz at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. First known for a string of 1980s hits with The Desert Rose Band, Jorgensen later found a passion for Gypsy jazz and has since become a leading expert and performer in the American Gypsy jazz movement. General admission tickets for the concert are $20.

The John Jorgensen Quintet plays a distinct style emulating groundbreaking instrumentalist Django Reinhardt. The genre features traditional Gypsy melodies coupled with swing music and dazzling fretwork.

A performer on a variety of Grammy award-winning and platinum-selling albums, Jorgensen has played with artists as diverse as Bonnie Raitt, Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Billy Joel, Elton John and Benny Goodman. He also performs with bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs and continues to collaborate with other artists live and in the studio.

Country music star Travis Tritt calls Jorgensen “one of my favorite musicians but also one of the nicest people in the industry.” Chris Hillman considers him “the best musician I have ever worked with.” Scruggs has said of Jorgensen, “To say that John is a superlative guitarist is an understatement.”

For more information or to charge tickets by phone, call UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Box Office at 828/232-5000. For more information about group tickets, call UNC Asheville’s Cultural & Special Events Office at 828/251-6227.

Media Contacts:

• Bunny Halton-Subkis, UNC Asheville Cultural & Special Events Director, 828/251-6674
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526