Northern California’s liveliest ensemble for European and International café music: Italian, French, Mexican, Brazilian, and more. The Hot Frittatas consists of fiddle, mandolin, accordion, guitar, and cello. Their third CD, “What’s Next?” was released in the Fall of 2009, continuing a musical journey which began with Caffe Liscio (2001), followed byInvitation to the Dance (2004). Their spirited performances include the Cotati Accordion Festival, The San Francisco Mandolin Festival, Rohnert Park’s Festa Italiana, Portland Oregon’s Festa Italiana, the Folk Alliance West Conference, in Phoenix, Arizona, and concerts from Pasadena to Portland. They have playedwineries, restaurants, house concerts, and Italian weddings throughout the Bay Area and have written original music for television and film, as well as appearing on the nationally-syndicated radio show, West Coast Live, in San Francisco, and “Says You” on NPR. A great band for dancing, dining, or enchanted listening.
www.hotfrittatas.com. (707) 526-7763
PERSONNEL:
Gus Garelick (violino e mandolino). Gus studied classical violin as a child in Detroit, Michigan, but also listened to his Eastern European relatives playing traditional Russian, Jewish and Italian music on the mandolin. As a kind of detour to his classical career, he discovered Bluegrass music while attending the University of Michigan, and things were never the same! Since the early 70s, he has played Bluegrass, Country, Cajun, jazz and of course classical violin and mandolin with many groups, including the late Jim Boggio and The Sonoma Swamp Dogs, Queen Ida, Al Rapone, and the Berkeley Mandolin Ensemble. In addition to the Hot Frittatas, he now leads The Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble, in Sebastopol.
Dennis Hadley (fisarmonica). Dennis’s two musical mentors were Frankie Yankovic and Hank Williams. Growing up in the East Bay in the 1950s, playing accordion didn’t make him the most popular kid on the block. But when Zydeco and Cajun music came on the scene, he was more than ready to jump in. Meanwhile, he was exploring other styles of accordion, as well, including Italian and Gypsy and French Musette. He now lives in Ukiah, California, where he plays on one of his five accordions and still likes Frankie Yankovic, this time with a trace of Italian and Cajun spices.
Don Coffin (chittara e mandolino) Don was raised in an Italian/Irish household in Petaluma, California. He has been performing music for international audiences since the late 60s. From 1971 to 1978, he recorded and toured with his wife, songwriter Kate Wolf. In the 80s, he toured Europe with The Eclecticatz, an acoustic trio playing Celtic, Cowboy, Country, and Swing. Since then, he has continued to play Irish, Italian, Bluegrass and Country music. He now lives in Lake County where he produces local concerts and participates in music programs in the Lake County schools. He also hosts an early-morning Bluegrass radio show in Lakeport.
Gail Sharpsteen (violincello) The newest addition to the Hot Frittatas, Gail lives in Calistoga and has studied and performed in classical and Baroque music settings for most of her life. She also learned to play the tenor banjo, and accompanied her late father, jazz clarinetist Tom Sharpsteen. She is a member of the Nota Bene Baroque Ensemble, in the Napa Valley, and also plays mandolin and mandocello with the Gravenstein Mandolin Ensemble.
