[Dixielandjazz] Swing de Gitanes with a Chamber Orchestra

[Marek Boym]

Following are Donna's impressions from a June 16 concert by SdG and
the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, as published in her blog "Ships and
Sealing Wax."  Donna is such a good writer!
BTW, I am the friend "who avoids classical music like the plague,
wouldn’t even try it."  The plague business might be a slight
exaggeration, but not more than that.
Cheers

Swing de Gitanes with a Chamber Orchestra?! Yes!!!

Hearing that the wonderful Gypsy swing trio, Swing de Gitanes, would
be playing with the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, I was a bit wary.
One of my friends, who avoids classical music like the plague,
wouldn’t even try it (after all, “It Don’t Mean a Thing…”)   I was
accompanied by one who actually attends classical concerts and met
another such friend there.   I won’t keep you in suspense, it meant a
lot!

The Ramat Gan Theater has a nice concert hall with good acoustics.
The only problem there is finding parking on the surrounding
residential streets – no parking lot.  As I used to live In the
neighborhood and have a friend who still does, I know the ins and outs
and was able to park in the vicinity.

The conductor Aviv Ron first announced that the Chamber Orchestra
would play a few numbers on its own as a warm-up band (a cute touch)
and they launched into I Got Rhythm – a statement of intention?
Things really heated up when guitarists Yaakov Hoter and Ori Ben Zvi
and bassist Oren Sagi came out on stage and began to play.  I had been
wondering to what extent they would actually be playing with the
orchestra and was pleasantly surprised to find that, on most numbers
the orchestra really backed them up and complemented their music
beautifully, maintaining a good swing feel and keeping the audience
tapping their feet and otherwise enthusiastically moving with the
music.   At one point, the orchestra’s violinist even took a short
solo.

The audience seemed to be mainly made up of subscribers to the Ramat
Gan Chamber Orchestras concert series, but they were supplemented by
devotees of Swing de Gitanes, like me.   In general, there was
thunderous applause at the end of each number (this time, Yaakov
announced them as pieces, as one would in a classical setting), but
none for solos.  However, at one point, Oren Sagi got enthusiastic
applause after a solo anyway!  I believe that was when they played a
Bach improvisation and when the members of the orchestra also
applauded!

You could really see and hear that Swing de Gitanes was really
thriving in the fantastic atmosphere, bouyed up by the congenial
accompaniment of the orchestra.  All three had smiles on their faces
most of the time (so did I – I was transported by the music).  What
added to the enjoyment is that we could see the smiles spreading on
the faces of the members of the orchestra as the evening went on!

The program was mainly the Gypsy swing repertoire, along with Oren
Sagi’s Autumn Sidewalks and Yaakov Hoter’s Rhythm Israel, which are
catchy tunes already very familiar to their fans, and very well
received by the audience.  In fact, I’ve rarely, if ever encountered
such an enthusiastic audience and Swing de Gitanes always evokes a
strong response.

The last tune on the program was the Love Theme from the God Father,
which I’ve heard has become a kind of Gypsy anthem.  This was followed
by a long lasting ovation, bouquets to each member of Swing de Gitanes
and the conductor, the arranger being called upon to take a bow, etc.
Finally, Swing de Gitanes and the orchestra played an encore – Mister
Sandman; What could be more appropriate (it was around 11 PM already)?
 I believe it was Yaakov Hoter, who did a lot of the announcing here
as he often does, who said to the audience, “You aren’t tired?
Neither are we!”

My friends and I came out intoxicated with the excitement, gushing
over the wonderful music and seeing great things in the future for
Swing de Gitanes.

It would be great if this performance could be repeated elsewhere!
For now, I’m looking forward to hearing Swing de Gitanes on their own
again (well, almost, with some swing dancers) at the lovely Inbal Hall
in Tel Aviv on June 30th.