There'll be some hot sounds on a warm night in the park next Sunday.

That's Long's Park, and the heat will be coming from Hot Club of Detroit, which will rock the trees Aug. 14 with its distinctive brand of "gypsy jazz," influenced by both France and the Motor City.

The five-man group — Andrew Kratzat on bass, Carl Cafagna on sax, Evan Perri and Paul Brady on guitar, and Julien Labro on accordion — has been praised by critics and fellow musicians. JazzTimes said "the quintet continues to project an inquisitive spirit and a venturesome thrust, something that holds true whether it's revisiting old tunes or unveiling original pieces."

In any event, accordionist Labro is simply having fun. And he's saluting his homeland while doing so.

As a native of Marseille, France's earthy port city, Labro discovered the accordion at an early age, when he saw a performer playing one on television.

In France, "the accordion is a major instrument of our culture," Labro said by phone from Toronto. He begged his parents for one, and by age 9 an accordion prodigy was displaying his talent.

Labro met guitarist Perri at Detroit's Wayne State University. The name of the group tips its hat to Motown and also pays homage to Hot Club of France, a legendary quintet founded in the 1930s by acclaimed gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. There are several Hot Club music groups throughout the United States, including a Hot Club of Philadelphia and a Hot Club of Cowtown. (That's Austin, Texas, by the way.)

Hot Club of Detroit's signature sound defies concise description. Fans might hear anything from the smooth notes of Charles Mingus' "Nostalgia in Times Square" to the classical elegance of Frederic Chopin's "Tristesse."

"We don't have drums," Labro said. "It's different, with two guitars, and bass and saxophone. We just created a sound."

And mastering the accordion isn't the easiest thing in the world.

"It's cumbersome. It's big," Labro said of his instrument. And after a lively concert, "it takes hours to wind down from a show," he said. That's when the guys of Hot Club of Detroit kick back and talk about other forms of music, or sports.

But it's all about "the message you have to convey," Labro said. The exact context of that musical message is something he continues to build.

"I'm working on it," Labro said. "It never ends."

Hot Club of Detroit will appear at Long's Park, off Harrisburg Pike near Route 30, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14. The free concert is part of the park's Summer Music Series. For more information, call 735-8883 or visit longspark.org.