[Dixielandjazz] Support live jazz

[Marek Boym]

Tonight, again, I some friends and I decided to put our wallets where
our mouth was and go to the third (and last) show in  the "Jazz at the
Mediterranean" series at the Felicja Blumental (the spelling is
correct; Ms. Blumental was a Polish pianist, and kept the Polish
spelling to the end of her days) Music Centre (we attended the first
one; the second was what I'd describe as "noise").
Two groups appeared:Swing de Gitanes and the Shay Brenner Ensemble.
Swing de Gitanes gave their usual good performance, composed of
originals, at least one composed only last week.  Only the last
number, on which Shay Brenner joined them on soprano sax, was a Gypsy
swing classic, "Minor Swing."
The second lineup was more traditional.  I admit being apprehensive -
Shay Brenner is basically a modernist, and I have heard hm spoil a
performance by playing endless scales instead of music (he calls it
"be bop).  But he had the co-leader of the Stompers, the trombonist
Amnon Ben Artzi with him, so we were hoping it wouldn't bee too bad,
and were not disappointed; he played only one "modern" solo (for which
he hardly got any applause from the audience).  The band, except for
the double bass, played unamplified, which was fine for the size and
the good acoustics of the room.  Oh, the sound of that Steinway grand!
 It really filled the hall!

In all, an enjoyable evening.

Cheers