What goes better with cutting edge technology than prohibition era jazz? On Winter’s Eve there is something for everyone and we are thrilled that the Hot Sardines are set to shake up the Upper West Side Apple Store. You might even want to pull out your ear-buds for this.
Take a blustery brass lineup, layer it over a rhythm section led by a stride-piano virtuoso in the Fats Waller vein, and tie the whole thing together with a one-of-the-boys frontwoman with a voice from another era, and you have the Hot Sardines. (And they haven’t even told you about the tap dancer yet.) The Sardine sound fuses musical influences from New York, Paris, and New Orleans that were nurtured from the Prohibition era through the Great Depression, WWII and beyond.
It’s a great American success story worthy of the cinema. A born-and-bred NYC actor meets a Parisian-born writer at an open jazz jam over a noodle shop in Manhattan, and from there the Hot Sardines were born. Bandleader Evan “Bibs” Palazzo and lead singer Miz Elizabeth combine with the Sardine ensemble of powerhouse musicians – and their very own tap dancer – to play “hot jazz” as it was in the era when live music was king…with a little glamour, a little grit, and a lot of passion. Even while giving voice to the history-defining jazz of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, the Hot Sardines’ vibrant performances bridge generations and captivate 21st century audiences.
In October 2014, their debut self-titled album on the Decca/Universal Music Classics label launched in the U.S. and internationally. It features a collection of both early jazz classics and original Sardine compositions. Producer of the Sardines’ album, Eli Wolf , has deep respect for the Hot Sardines’ musicianship and performance style, applauding their “reverence for the jazz age, balanced with a playful nod to the present.” The album launch marks a defining moment in the Sardines’ evolution, which started as a slow burn fueled by a shared passion for music from another era, and escalated as the band’s performances ignited the same passion in audiences all over the world. The irony of the Hot Sardines’ success is rooted in its origins: it was started by two non-musicians who never set out to form a band.
“One of the best jazz bands in NYC today, ” Forbes Magazine.
Location: Upper West Side Apple Store –Broadway at 67th Street
Time: 7:00pm