The Jazz Repertory Company presents a billet-doux à nos amis with its tribute to Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker and the joyous jazz of Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt’s Quintette du Hot Club de France.

Susan Black not only sounds like Piaf but looks like her too, and she’ll be recreating some of the greatest songs of Piaf’s extraordinary career – ‘Non, Je ne regrette rien’, ‘Milord’, ‘La foule’, ‘L’accordéoniste’, ‘Padam, Padam’ and her signature song, ‘La vie en rose’.

The American singer and dancer Josephine Baker came to fame in 1920s Paris, where she was known as the ‘Black Pearl’, the ‘Bronze Venus’ and the ‘Creole Goddess’. Nicolle Rochelle performed the lead role in Looking for Josephine during its two-year run, playing to capacity crowds at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

The music of Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli is recreated by The Hot Club de Londres, a quintet featuring violinist Mike Piggott in the role of Grappelli and Nils Solberg, the leading UK specialist in Django-style guitar. The music they create is a charming blend of swing and beautifully melodic soloing that encapsulates Parisian 1930s’ sophistication and elegance.