CAROLYN DUTTON continued from 47
“ I always thought it was so beautiful, you know,” she said.“ I just thought it was a great place.”
Plus, Dutton said, the area has an active music scene, and she thought her ability to play varied styles would allow her to fit in.
She bought property in Nashville, built a house, including a“ huge, great room” to remind her of her Soho loft— though she has since sold it.
Within a month of living here, she got a call from Slats Klug, a musician famous for albums and performances that explored Brown County’ s history.“ He was looking for a fiddle player,” Dutton said. She played with Klug and immediately was immersed in the local music scene. Dutton also met jazz piano player Monica Herzig, with whom she played shows and on whose albums she appeared.
For about the last two decades, she has played with a Gypsy jazz band, Bleu Django, which plays tunes of the 1930s style’ s creators, Jean“ Django” Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.
Daryl Jones, a retired engineer and guitarist with Bleu Django, said he and another guitarist, Bob Foster, had enjoyed jamming Gypsy jazz for years and thought about getting a band together when they ran into Dutton and realized she, too, had a fascination with Reinhardt and Grappelli.
They formed Bleu Django soon thereafter and have been touring all over Indiana since, playing festivals, weddings, and other private events.
Jones said the musicians on stage often talk about the songs, as their origin usually has an interesting story.“ Artillerie Lourde,” for example, represents heavy artillery from World War II. And many of the tunes, including“ Nuages,” French for clouds, have a darker tone to them.
Dutton said she still enjoys performing, especially with Bleu Django, because she likes introducing people to that style of music, in the hopes of making them as enthusiastic about it as she is.
“ I just want people to know about [ it ] because it’ s such an exciting music to me,” she said.
You can find out where Bleu Django plays next by visiting the band’ s website, < bleudjango. com >, or through Facebook. •
BOUTIQUE
Open Daily at 11 a. m. at Abe’ s Corner
Large Selections of Women’ s and Children’ s Clothing Handmade Purses
58 E. Main St.( next to courthouse) and 60 N. Van Buren St.( Colonial bldg.) Nashville, IN
Abe’ s Corner
2 Locations
Open Daily 9:00 – 7:00
HIDDEN GETAWAY
Apartment for Daily Rental
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$ 90 on the weekdays $ 100 on the weekends
812-720-7071
Open Year-Round for Lunch & Dinner Fresh made to order starters, salads, sandwiches and house specialties
Brown County’ s only“ Husband Day Care” Guinness on tap • Full bar • Specialty drinks • Bloody Mary • Islander • Margarita Full menu available in Bar • Large TV
Out of the Ordinary Restaurant & Hickory Sports Bar
61 South Van Buren St. • Nashville, IN Across the street from the Brown County Playhouse
( 812) 200-1999 • OutOfTheOrdinaryRestaurant
Sept./ Oct. 2024 • Our Brown County 49