The Hot Club of Philadelphia presents its contemporary take on gypsy jazz, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16, in the “Jazz Upstairs” series, Rodale Community Room, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown.

“I really rediscovered gypsy jazz around 2000,” said Hot Club of Philadelphia founder and guitarist Barry Wahrhaftig. “I saw a show at Lincoln Center and then another player doing that style.

“I was astounded at the whole ‘le pompe’ the sound,” he says, refering to the pumping sound of the two guitars and bass that serves as the rhythmic backbone of the gypsy jazz style, pioneered by the Hot Club of France, which featured jazz legends guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli.

“Django and Stephane were jamming on American hot jazz. In many respects, they were trying to get the sound of Joe Venuti and Eddie Lange. It was their gypsy French way of playing American hot jazz.” Through the 1920s and early 1930s, violinist Venuti and guitarist Lang were featured soloists on numerous recordings.

In keeping with the gypsy jazz tradition, the Hot Club of Philadelphia has no drums, piano or brass. Members include Joseph Arnold, violin; John Catalano, rhythm guitar; Jim Stager, bass, and Phyllis Chapell, vocals. Wahrhaftig plays lead guitar and sometimes sings, as well.

Arnold, a Hot Club member for more than 10 years, has a BA in jazz studies from Carnegie Mellon. In addition to being a top-shelf violinist, he is a composer, arranger and leader of the Joseph Arnold Orchestra. He also plays with the Birmingham Six, an Irish rock band, and teaches at the Philadelphia School for the Alexander Technique.

Catalano is a self-taught guitarist who studied classical guitar with Stafford Hontz Koster. He is active as a performer and teaches at the Catalano Conservatory at the Grace Milliman Pollock Performing Arts Center, Camp Hill.

Chapell is a songwriter and vocalist who sings in 13 languages. She performs as a soloist and with her ensemble Phyllis Chapell & Siora. For the “Jazz Upstairs” concert, she’ll sing in French, “La Foule,” made famous by Edith Piaf.

Stager has been with the Hot Club since its inception. He plays bass and does vocals. He is a native Philadelphian who has played with the bands Huffamoose and The World Takes.

Wharhaftig does the arrangements for the group. He studied with Howard Alden, Tal Farlow and Stephane Wrembel, who composed “Bistro Fada” for Woody Allen’s film, “Midnight in Paris.”

Of “Bistro Fada,” Wahrhaftig says, “It’s a waltz. People love it. We’re transported [to the past] and so is the audience. A nice escape in any year.”

Hot Club of Philadelphia is working on a followiup to its last CD, “Gypsy Roots.” Says Wahrhaftig, “It will include one of Joseph Arnold’s original songs, a little bit of Americana, maybe some Philly soul jazz, and a piece we play a lot that morphs from Stephen Foster’s ‘Hard Times’ to ‘Ashokan Farewell.’”

Asked about the “Jazz Upstairs” performance, Wharhaftig says, “We do at least one Edith Piaf piece, probably a Beatles’ song, maybe a Jimmy Hendricks’ song. The more diverse it is the better. I like to keep it interesting. There will be some songs from our latest CD, ‘Gypsy Roots.’

“We have fun. We kid around with the audience. It’s not stuffy. People need to know they can relax and have fun. We let them know that right away,” Wahrhaftig says.

Tickets: Miller Symphony Hall box office, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown; allentownsymphony.org; 610-432-6715