Tomoko, the Jazzy Violinist

Toe-tapping Snappy Hot Jazz

More about the CDs...

​The blend you achieve with the clarinet is extraordinary. Your CD is very musical and very precise. Intonation is flawless. You must be very proud of your music.   — Christopher Baird

I listened to your CD on the way home. I love it!  It cheers me up.   — Kathy Larsen

Reminds me of music from Woody Allen’s film. This is the music I like and you guys executed very well. I want two more as presents for my friends!   — John Kloubcher

I just wanted to compliment you on your beautiful CD. I love all the music, but the pieces that you wrote yourself -- "Why Why" and "Reflections" -- are extraordinary! The passion and musicianship of your pieces remind me of the great Cuban music in Calle 54. It's a real treat this time of year with the chill in the air outside to have something warm and beautiful to listen to inside! Many thanks,   — Mary Beth Hagen

I listened to the CD yesterday, and I found it very enjoyable. I didn't grow up with 'gypsy jazz,' and in fact have scarcely been exposed to the idiom. I do remember a Stephane Grappelli duet with Paul Simon (called "Hobo's Blues," if memory serves) on an early Simon & Garfunkel album. I've always loved that tune -- the joy of the playing is so palpable. The same is true of your album, where all the tunes are played with great joy and brio. I know that your covers are 'standards' of the genre, but I was rather more excited to hear the original compositions. After all, the jazz classics are already out in the world, but this will be the first time people will get to hear your music.   — Bruce Sesnovich

As a Grappelli/Reinhardt fan, I can vouch for/heartily recommend this CD. Excellent music and I believe Tomoko's playing compares very favorably with Stephane's. The original compositions are especially nice.   — Dino LaChiusa

​​Upcoming Shows

First Night Chatham

​Wednesday, December 31, 3:00 - 4:00 pm

First Methodist Church

​16 Cross St. Chatham MA

More Info

Cultural Center Of Cape Cod

Saturday, January 25, 7:30 - 9:30 pm

307 Old Main St, South Yarmouth, MA

Homegrown Coffeehouse

Saturday, February 22, 8:00 - 10:00 pm

First Parish in Needham

23 Dedham Ave., Needham, MA

​The Dance Hall, Kittery ME

Saturday, March 1, 7:30 - 9;30 pm

7 Walker St, Kittery, ME 03904 · 

Cape Cod Museum Of Art

Sunday, March 30, 3:30 - 4:30 pm

​60 Hope Ln. Dennis, MA 02638

BMS Faculty Artist Series

Sunday, May 18, 2:00 - 3:30 pm

Hunneman Hall in Brookline Village Library

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Yo-Ki Swing is a joyful collection of mostly original swing tunes by Tomoko Iwamoto. Tomoko and her 440 band members unroll a sweet swing soundscape with beautiful musical colors; it is simultaneously exciting and relaxing to hear. Highly recommended CD! -- Dave Reiner, Director and Founder of Fiddle Hell Massachusetts

440 

Tomoko has her own melodic vocabulary that she has created within the gypsy jazz context. Not an easy thing to do. It reflects the strength and bravery of her character. It shows she has lived some life and her stories are subtly silhouetted through her music. Such a pleasure!  -- Chris McDermott, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer (www.chrismcdermott.com)

"You were wonderful! The more we hear your music, the more addicted we become! thank you for yet another exciting, energetic and inspiring concert!"

​--Voices from our audience

Contact

Email: gypsyjazz440@outlook.com

facebook.com/440jazz

Click here to watch New Revival Coffeehouse performance on Stow TV

Label: CdBaby, Release year: 2019

John Clark, clarinet, is the founder of the Wolverine Jazz Band and has been a fixture on the New England Jazz scene for many years. He has played professionally in the Boston area with numerous traditional jazz and big bands, including the High Society Dance Orchestra, Dan Gabel's Abeltones, Commonwealth Jazz, the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, and the Paramount Jazz Band of Boston. Clark also regularly appears with Dave Whitney and His Orchestra, the Swing Legacy, and the Mood Elevators, among others. John is an acknowledged authority on the history of jazz and has recorded extensively. He also holds a PhD. in Musicology and has published books and articles on the foundations of Early Jazz.

About Us

"Thank you so much for bringing the magic of 440-Gypsy Jazz to our 30th Anniversary benefit on Wednesday evening. Your music creates just the right mood for people to feel celebratory! One of our guests--an older gentleman at that--started to dance to the music, which is a testament to the power of your tunes." 

--Judy Katz, Director of Development, Primary Source

Tomoko Iwamoto, violin, a leader of 440, has been in Boston jazz scene for more than 30 years. Being a "jazzy" violinist with a strong classical background, she expanded her repertoire in jazz, rock, pop to world music, toured with Hypnotic Clambake, while studying Jazz Composition and Arranging at Berklee College of Music. During her recent trip to Europe, she jammed with world renown gypsy jazz musicians; Tcha Limberger & the members of Les Violins de Bruxelles, and Chris & Julian Brunard. She appeared as a guest soloist with Mood Swings Orchestra and Women In World Jazz, and collaborated with modern jazz guitarist, Chris Mcdermott.

Videos

"We saw 440 at the Homegrown Coffeehouse and were blown away. I grew up in a Dixieland Jazz household and had never heard of Gypsy Jazz. I loved how beautifully the violin and clarinet blended together and I also loved the endings of their songs...and how they were so precise and tight. Tomoko's compositions were beautiful. "

--Voices from our audience

Label: CdBaby, Release year: 2017

PAST SHOWS & VENUES

Corporate & private parties, fund raise events, holiday parties, wedding & baby shower, etc.

Concert Series:

WICN 90.5 FM at Mechanics Hall, Worchester MA

Plymouth Center For The Arts, Plymouth MA

Newton Cultural Alliance, Newton MA

​​​​​​Muusic 4UU concert series, Peterborough NH

The Dance Hall, Kittery ME

Homegrown Coffeehouse, Needham MA

Menino Arts Center, Hydepark, MA

Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA 

Mandorla Music Summer Concert Series at Eustis Estate

19 Carter Summer Concert Series, Berlin MA

New Revival Coffee House, Stow MA

Brick Hill House Concert in Orleans, MA

​Music & More at Cape Cod Museum Of Art, Dennis MA

Fugitive Productions at Sanctuary, Maynard MA 

Music Mondays Series at Scandinavian Center, Newton MA

Six String Music Company Concert Series, Marion MA

Fugitive Productions at Orange Door Kitchen in Acton MA
Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain MA

Brewster Ladies' Library in Brewster MA
Lifetime Learning at Temple Shalom in Newton MA
Newton Free Library in Newton MA
FRS Coffeehouse, Carlisle MA

Dot Jazz Series, Dorchester MA

​Brookline Village Festival, Brookline MA

​Newton Jazz Festival, Newton MA

Restaurants & Bars:
The Burren Backroom

Nosh by Concord Market

Aeronaut Brewing Company, Sommerville MA

Athan's Bakery, Brighton MA

Atwood's Tavern, Cambridge MA

​Moldova, Newton MA

Theory Wine Bar + Listening Room, Andover MA
Terry O'Reily's Irish Pub in Newton MA
The Plough & Stars in Cambridge MA
Down The Road Brewery in Everett MA

Festivals & Community Centers:
Chatham First Night

Primary Source event in Newton MA

Community Growing Center in Sommerville MA
Newtonville Jazz Festival
Brookline Village Fair
and various assisted living & retirement homes

Gregory Toro, bass, was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.  He fell in love with music and rhythm as a child, and at the age of ten joined a neighborhood steel band that played calypso and church music on weekends.  He later took up guitar and piano, but found his true calling as a bass player when he was sixteen years old.  Greg studied electric and upright bass and jazz composition at Berklee College of Music, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with musicians from many different countries and cultures.  He has gone on to travel the world with jazz and rock groups, and continues to perform nightly in a wide variety of styles.Type your paragraph here.

In the style of hot club jazz, 440 presents their toe-tapping original tunes and Django's music arranged with beautiful harmony by violin and clarinet. 

Discography

Jack Soref, guitar, graduate of Berklee College of Music,  became captivated by the music of Django Reinhardt after attending the International Django Reinhardt festival in Samois-sur-Seine France in 2002. Jack is a mainstay of Django Festivals Django in June, where he has taught since 2009, and the Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest, where he has performed as recently as 2023. Throughout his career Jack has performed as an accompanist for Jazz Manouche luminaries like Joscho Stephan, Tim Kliphius, Gonzalo Bergara, Jason Anick, Olli Soikkeli, Adrien Moignard, Ben Powell, Aurélien Bouly, Henry Acker, Samuel Farthing, Max O'Rourke and Titi Bamberger.