[Dixielandjazz] Live jazz and young dancers

[Marek Boym]

Hello,
Just back from another very enjoyable evening.
Before anything started, there was the DJ.  After a few minutes of
mainly Russian songs, he swithced to jazz - a lot of Gypsy swing, but
not only.  Then came the first part of the programme -  was a swing
dancing class given by Dance Tel-Aviv, another swing dancing school.
At first without music, then with recorded  music - OKOM.  When the
sound system died (with a bang), the swing quartet that was preparing
for its part of the evening came to thedancers' rescue, to everybody's
satisfaction,  When the sound system was eventually revived, the
musicians played with it.
I actually went for the second part - a very nice, swinging, young
quartet.  The leader was Eli Preminger of the New Orleans Function,
the bass player had before played with the Good Time Jazz, and the
names of the guitarist and the tenor saxophonist I did not catch
(shame on me - I have heard the guitarist before and should have
remembered).  I was especially impressed by the saxophone player, who
looked early twenties.  Seeing a young guy with a saxophone nowadays
is scary, but that one can really play!  Apparently influenced by
Lester Young (but also Eddie Lockjaw Davis), he can - and does -
swing!  And his playing is melodic, too.  I really loved his playing,
and hope to hear him again in jazz context.  On Dark Eyes he seemed to
have lost the melody, but it reappeared pretty soon - not straight, of
course; but this is the way of swing players (and even many trad
players).  Many dancers continued dancing to the band.
Then came the third part- dance music played too loud, so my friend
and I left; had the DJ played mote swing, like before the concert, we
would have stayed, but it's not a great disaster to go to bed a little
earlier.
Oh, I forgot to mention - except for my friend and me, all the public was young!
Cheers