This will be Dennis Pols’ first time at Django in June, but I’ve been hearing about him for years. What I hear often sounds like this email from a long-time Django Camper:
Dennis is a really great player, among the best and most versatile that we have had. Very comfortable with Gypsy jazz as well as straight ahead. He is very knowledgeable from both a theoretical and practical perspective and can communicate it well. He is very patient and friendly while taking music very seriously. His style is more modern that of some while he has the standard Gypsy style down and the chops to do both seemingly effortlessly. … He speaks English very well, as well as Italian and Greek. In addition to all that, I have really enjoyed hanging with him, both on gigs, going out to hear music, etc. He is a great guy. I think he’d be a really good fit for Django in June.
Need we say more? Maybe just this:
Dennis Pol is an Italian/Greek jazz guitarist and composer based in NYC. He is the leader of the Dennis Pol Acoustic Quartet and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. He cites Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt and Biréli Lagrène as having the biggest impact on his music, so it is no surprise that his style incorporates elements of Gypsy jazz and contemporary jazz, blues and jazz fusion. Dennis has two albums as a leader and was the first prize winner of the Bucharest International Jazz Competition in 2017 with the AG Quintet.
You can learn more about him here; you can learn from him here, at Django in June.