Hot Club Sandwich

Remembering Ray Wood • 1942 - 2024

Ray Wood passed away peacefully at home on November 14, 2024. We know he always wanted to stay at home, and we send our condolences to his family and also friends who miss him dearly. We are grateful for the support everyone provided both near and from afar, especially his family for caring for him as he aged in place for the past few years. First responders were on the scene when Ray’s gaze drifted off for the final time.

A memorial will be held on Saturday, January 18 from 12-4pm at the Olympia Eagles #21, 805 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501 — there will be a potluck and jamming among friends and family. A memorial celebration will also take place during the National Old-Time Fiddle Contest in Wesier, Idaho in June in the Stickerville Camp. Weiser Friends of the Fiddle, Inc.(501(c)3) is accepting contributions in Ray’s memory. On the Stickerville website, you can donate to the Ray Wood Memorial & Scholarship Fund.

Read more about Ray and our experiences together on the Remembering Ray Wood page – https://www.hotclubsandwich.com/remembering-ray-wood/.

From the Archives
Our 2nd Album is Now Streaming
Listen to our 2003 album "Digga Digga Do"
From the Archives
Our 2nd Album is Now Streaming
Listen to our 2003 album "Digga Digga Do"
Tap to listen
Our 2nd Album is Now Streaming
Listen to our 2003 album "Digga Digga Do"
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Listen to the full 2003 Hot Club Sandwich album: Digga Digga Do

Now streaming on all major services like Pandora (link here) and Spotify (link here)

Expertly recorded by David Lange, masterfully produced by Orville Johnson, Digga Digga Do was the first real Hot Club Sandwich studio production. Like all of our albums, Digga Digga Do traverses a range of musical themes and rhythms with original compositions by band members (“False Valse”; “HCS Strut”; “Desde Que Viniste”; “Mudka Bushka”; “Diminishing Returns”; “Karmen”; “La Valse de L’Amoureaux”) alongside venerable classics like the title trac). As always, we included a few special selections from elsewhere around the world. Juan Carlos Serbulo Sosa sang in Portuguese, our engineer David Lange contributed accordion to our treatment of a vintage Brazilian choro. Our friends LaVon Hardison and Rich Sikorski both contributed vocals on multiple songs.
 
Tracy Bigelow Grisman painted the cover art, and Joshua Sage Photography captured the band on film during low tide on Port Townsend Bay when the record was released. The ‘flaming baguette’ design was created by Hatch Show Print. In the CD booklet, we also used head shots of band members taken spontaneously one night in a photo booth. Our printed list of thanks extends gratitude to all our families and friends, our mentors and teachers, luthiers, music stores, radio stations and DJs up and down the West Coast. We thanked our friends and the bands we’d encounter on the road, especially “everyone who has let us sleep on their floors and practice in their kitchens.”

Our most recent recording, No Pressure, is
available on all streaming services

Hot Club Sandwich

More than twenty years ago, hot-jazz string band Hot Club Sandwich formed in Olympia, WA after a chance meeting on a front porch. Each band member offers compositions and arrangements, with instrumentation featuring guitars, bass, violin, mandolin and drums. Everyone in the band sings. The fifth Hot Club Sandwich recording, No Pressure (2018), features a guest appearance by master mandolinist David Grisman. Joseph Mascorella delivered an outstanding performance on No Pressure, see our page devoted to Remembering Joseph Mascorella.

Photo: Hot Club Sandwich performed at the Royal Room in Seattle on January 11, 2020, sharing the bill with The Swing Bringers.

In 2023, Hot Club Sandwich is still led by four core founding members who have played together for over 20 years: Kevin Conor on guitar, James Schneider on bass, Matt Sircely on mandolin, and Tim Wetmiller on violin. In performance, the ensemble often grows to include members of the band’s extended music community, and Hot Club Sandwich is always happy to furnish a quintet or sextet.

We congratulate Ray Wood on his retirement after 70 years on the bandstand. Ray joins us in mourning the tragic passing of Joseph Mascorella due to unexpected illness in October, 2022. Joseph’s salient vocals and brilliant drumming continue to shine our most recent recording . We hold his memory in our hearts every single day.

Visit the ‘Concerts‘ page to see information about upcoming shows. Visit the ‘Contact‘ page to subscribe for the email list. HCS is on Facebook.

Read reviews of
No Pressure:
Visit the ‘Press‘ page

“True Northwest originals, Washington State string swing ensemble Hot Club Sandwich has cooked up a delightful batch of new tunes… They let the music be their guide as they adopt their own interpretation of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pursuit of honest, adventurous improvisation while embracing musical forms from around the world… For this, their fifth album, they invited longtime friend David Grisman to produce and the result is a record that stirs the musical pot with dynamic instrumental interplay.”
— Tara Joan, No Depression