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Swing 105

 

Kelley Hunt/NJO

January 2012
Performances

Concert reviews

 

Concert Review

Gypsy jazz is alive and well in Swing 105

 

By Tom Ineck 

 

LINCOLN, Neb.—Gypsy jazz is alive and well and living in Nebraska, currently under the guise of Swing 105. I had the distinct pleasure of hearing this new quartet of Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli devotees on two separate occasions, Sept. 2 and Nov. 11, both times at the intimate Crescent Moon Coffeehouse in downtown Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket District.

 

Swing 105 at Crescent Moon Coffeehouse in November [Photo by Tom Ineck]I can testify that they are the real deal, rigorously maintaining the gypsy swing tradition while daring to improvise and expand on that tradition. The band is fronted by fiddler Dave Fowler, an earnest advocate of the French string jazz that emerged in 1930s Paris and became a worldwide sensation that is still recognized by fans and musicians alike as one of the most imaginative, irresistible and unique variations on American jazz. To perform a style that requires great concentration and adept group interplay, Fowler is joined by rhythm guitarist Mike Herres, lead guitarist Alexander Zappala and bassist Brendon Sibley.

 

The band’s repertoire alternates freely between standards of the Great American Songbook and tunes written specifically for this French-based jazz genre. The classic “After You’ve Gone” may be followed by Reinhardt’s “Djangology” or “Blues for Ike,” depending on the mood of the players or the audience. Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose” is paired with another classic of the 1920s, “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” During one set, “Dinah” and Django’s “Dinette” were blended together.

 

Alexander Zappala [Photo by Tom Ineck]While most listeners are familiar with the melodies of “Sweet Georgia Brown, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing),” they may be pleasantly surprised to hear them in the same set as the Reinhardt originals “Minor Swing,” “Blue Drag” and “Belleville.” Swing 105 takes its name and its mission seriously, combining Django’s famous compositions “Swing ‘42” and “Swing ’39” and tackling the traditional “Swing Gitane” and Reinhardt's “Daphne” with equal zeal. “Avalon” may lead to a stately bolero version of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.”

 

Regardless of the set lists on any given night, you will witness a high level of attention to chord changes and the king of mutual interaction that makes this music so exciting. As Sibley maintains the bass foundation, Herres sets up a solid rhythm pattern on guitar, giving Fowler and Zappala the confidence to venture into extended solos. Zappala is especially adventurous as he ranges freely over the fretboard, alternating between slashing chords and dazzling, slurred single-note runs.

 

The challenge is to keep a band like this together long enough to learn and hone a repertoire and to develop an even greater comfort level with each other. Here’s hoping that Swing 105 stays at it for a long time to come.

 


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Concert Review

Kelley Hunt gives a bluesy jolt to the NJO

 

LINCOLN, Neb.Kelley Hunt’s rootsy rhythm-and-blues style was give a jolt of Big Band brass Oct. 11 as the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra featured the singer, Kelley Hunt sings with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra [Photo by Tom Ineck]pianist and songwriter in a selection of her own tunes and a few reliable standards.

 

About 350 people attended the Embassy Suites concert, despite a booking snafu that had the NJO and the Cornhusker Marriott scrambling to find a venue.

 

With its usual aplomb, the big band launched into its opening tunes, beginning with the tricky rhythms of “Why Musicians Can’t Dance,” a mid-tempo swinger that featured a potent call-and-response by the entire brass section. Mark Benson’s “Ten Years Ago” had a bright tempo and a catchy melodic hook with solo contributions by the composer on soprano sax and Andy Hall on electric bass.

 

Matt Wallace takes a solo [Photo by Tom Ineck]“Kansas City” was the perfect choice for Hunt’s first vocal, emphasizing her throaty blues style and acknowledging her debt to the KC blues and swing tradition. After a meaty tenor sax solo by Matt Wallace, Hunt switched to piano for a solo chorus, followed by Chris Acker on plunger-muted trombone and Peter Bouffard on guitar.

 

On “I Got News for You,” Hunt belted out the classic tale of a two-faced lover. Hunt’s own “Sad Café,” from her 1994 debut release, contained some interesting chord changes. The brass section provided snappy punctuation on the old blues shuffle “Alright, Okay, You Win” to close the first set.

 

Dave Sharp’s arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s sensuous “A Felicidade” was followed by a Don Sebesky arrangement of Bill Evans’ “Waltz for Debby” that emphasized the tune’s gorgeous chord progression, with Hunt at the piano with bassist Andy Hall and guitarist Peter Bouffard [Photo by Tom Ineck]dissonant brass shadings adding to the colors.

 

Hunt returned for the vocal on “The Thrill is Gone,” an imaginative Bouffard arrangement of the tune usually associated with B.B. King, which featured another inspired tenor solo by Wallace. With a seven-piece combo, Hunt turned up the heat with her boogie-woogie tune “Back in the Saddle” and a tribute to the KC swing style of Jay McShann on “Talk to Me.” The entire NJO returned for the set closer, “Shake It Off.”

 

As an encore, Bouffard joined Hunt for a delicate rendering of the ballad “My Funny Valentine.”

 


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