What do you get when you combine the 1930s gypsy-jazz stylings of Django Reinhardt and the torchy-twangy mezzo delivery of Patsy Cline with a rowdy troupe of Romani-esque instrumentalists? The only correct answer would be the Bonaventure Quartet! This longtime Atlanta outfit handily transplants you to another time and place while putting their own stamp on it all. The ensemble’s latest album, Lost and Found at the Clermont Lounge, may take its title from the Poncey-Highland dive-turned-tourist-attraction, but the disc’s 15 songs traverse decades, regions, whole continents. The BVQ’s first album, ‘The Secret Seduction of the Grand Pompadour’ made the Creative Loafing’s list of the Top 101 Albums of the Decade: Atlanta’s Greatest Hits, 2000-2009, and garnered praise from national press. With Amy Pike, (formerly of the Lost Continentals), Charles Williams, (Aquarium Rescue Unit featuring Col. Bruce Hampton), and Dan Coy on guitars, Joel Morris on drums, Mark Bynum on bass, Don Erdman on saxes and clarinets, Gabe Granitz on accordion and Ken Gregory on brass, the BVQ has played almost every festival and stage in Atlanta. Come enjoy the BVQ’s unique acoustic sound, a virtual melting pot of European influences, camp, and swing noire.

The band is versatile and performs in a variety of ensembles. We start with an instrumental trio, quartet, and quintet playing the music of Django Reinhardt and European swing, latin, and waltzes. Then simply add vocalist Amy Pike, drums, horns, and our repertoire expands into a mixture of classic standards and original music. From a trio to Big Band, we can fit any event or show.

“The swaying, jazzy, Reinhardt/Grappelli-inspired music of the Bonaventure Quartet is a rare treat, and this group does an amazing job of capturing that era. With Amy Pike on vocals, this is a perfect combination.”

-James Kelly, Creative Loafing

Best of Atlanta 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011-Creative Loafing

WABE 90.1’s feature on the BVQ http://news.wabe.org/post/bonaventure-quartet-tunes-atlanta-area-performances