D’PaJo String Trio accompanying Sullivan’s Travels

Two-Piece Tuesdays is happy to again present String Trio d’PaJo. This month they’ll be accompanying the classic film “Sullivan’s Travels”.

d’PaJo is an eclectic ensemble that focuses on their mutual love and appreciation for a myriad of musical styles – gypsy jazz, jazz standards, great American songbook, Latin, and any other music that speaks to them. As a collective, they have performed internationally on more than two continents and in a dozen countries, in settings ranging from intimate house concerts to venues such as Yoshi’s, Grace Cathedral and Davies Symphony Hall. Guitarist Patrick Anseth and Violinist Justin Ouellet have been active in both the California & New England music scenes and perform in groups such as the Nuvo Jazz Quartet, ALQ Quartet, and June & Man.
Bassist Joe Kyle Jr. has been active in the Bay Area for more than 20 years performing in countless bands such as the Americano Social Club, Howle Divine ALQ Quartet and many many more.
Patrick is the director of the Jazz Guitar program at OSA. Justin is the Co-Director of Chamber Music & Orchestral Studies at OSA.

Shannon Hubbell’s film selection this month is “Sullivan’s Travels”.
Sullivan’s Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about Hollywood’s top director of comedies, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that creating laughter is his greatest contribution to society. The film features one of Veronica Lake’s first leading roles. The title is a reference to Gulliver’s Travels, the famous novel by satirist Jonathan Swift about another journey of self-discovery.

Sullivan’s Travels received mixed critical reception, varying from the New York Times calling it “the most brilliant picture yet this year”, praising Sturges’s mix of escapist fun with underlying significance, and naming it as one of the ten best films of 1941 to The Hollywood Reporter claiming it lacked the “down to earth quality and sincerity which made [Sturges’s] other three pictures of 1941 – The Great McGinty, The Lady Eve, and Christmas in July – “a joy to behold”.

Over time, the film’s reputation has improved tremendously, being described by media historian Hal Erickson as a “classic”, “one of the finest movies about movies ever made” and a “masterpiece”.[3] In 1990, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

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