HOT HOUSE was born in jam sessions in the early 1980's. Guest artists including Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Dave Balakrishnan (Turtle Island String Quartet) helped us define our membership. Founder Bill DeKuiper chose a name that referred to the hot music of the 1920's and 30's from which the band took its cue. The influence of Count Basie, Bennie Goodman, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelly, Fats Waller, Charlie Christian, Cootie Williams, Lester Young, et al further reveals our plilosophical heritage. Eclectic instrumentation including jazz violin enabled the band to recreate traditional jazz in an original way.
A few years later a chance encounter with vocalist Elizabeth Hersey added a new twist to the band's progress. Her established repertoire acknowledging Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole was an easy fit. Other singing members joined the choir and we soon had an eccentric vocal catalog from recordings by the Mills Brothers, Boswell Sisters. Andrews Sisters and rare gems from the Cats and the Fiddle and the Spirits of Rhythm.
Thus after some years of refinement, Hot House was full grown, full blown and eager to perform. And indeed they have. This San Francisco-based ensemble features; Bill DeKuiper on guitar and vocals, Phil Richardson on violin and vocals, Jack Schaeffer on saxophone and clarinet, Jim Gammon on trumpet and flugelhorn, Blake Richardson on upright bass, Bob Belanski on drums and songstress Elizabeth Hersey on vocals.
Recent highlights for the group include the San Francisco Art Institute: “Connexions” at S. F. City Hall; the San Francisco Opera's Gala World-premier of “A Streetcar Named Desire” conducted by Sir Andre Previn; The Napa Valley Wine Auction at Meadowood Resort; a Cal Performances event with Yo Yo Ma and the Mark Morris Dance Company; the San Francisco Chronicle's Fourth of July Festival; the Mount Tamalpais Mountain Play “Hello Dolly”; film and television soundtracks including “L.A. Confidential” and “Hello Palm Springs”; and appearances with: Mose Allison, Les McCann, Michael McDonald, Dave Mason, Mark Murphy, Spencer Davis and comedians Harry Anderson and Tom Smothers.
Other performances have been held at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences, the Marin Symphony Pops, the Mill Valley Film Festival, Sausalito Art Festival, Marin Classic Jazz Festival, Silverado Country Club, Tech Museum of Innovation, The Museums at Blackhawk, Moscone Convention Center, Niebaum Coppola Winery and the Sweetwater, Mill Valley.
Hot House has proudly performed at a number of corporate events including: the New Yorker Magazine, Apple Computer, Napa Valley Wine Association, Silicon Graphics, Sutter Home Winery, The Shaklee Corporation, ComputerLand Corporation and Wente Brothers Sparkling Cellars
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