Local Jazz | Tucson Jazz

Hot Sardines – French Fries and Champagne @ Fox Tucson Theatre

Dec 31 @ 8:30 pm

Quality is timeless. Just ask The Hot Sardines. In the talented hands of the New York-based ensemble, music first made famous decades ago comes alive through their brassy horn arrangements, rollicking piano melodies, and vocals from a chanteuse who transports listeners to a different era with the mere lilt of her voice.

On French Fries & Champagne, The Hot Sardines’ new album for Universal Music Classics, the jazz collective broadens its already impressive palette, combining covers and originals as they effortlessly channel New York speakeasies, Parisian cabarets and New Orleans jazz halls. Bandleader Evan “Bibs” Palazzo and lead singer “Miz Elizabeth” Bougerol met in 2007 after they both answered a Craigslist ad about a jazz jam session above a Manhattan noodle shop. The unlikely pair— she was a London School of Economics-educated travel writer who grew up in France, Canada and the Ivory Coast, he was a New York City born and raised actor who studied theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia—bonded over their love for Fats Waller. Influenced also by such greats as Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, they began playing open mic nights and small gigs and by 2011, they headlined Midsummer Night Swing at New York’s Lincoln Center.

The name is also a reflection of the times, as lines blur between high and low culture, luxury and comfort. “The old rules – that champagne goes with caviar, or couture and takeout don’t mix – are out the window. You see it everywhere… fashion, travel, food,” says Elizabeth. “Just be yourself and do what you like,” adds Evan. “Which is really how the Sardines approach everything we do.” The title track is a reminder that when the going gets tough, the tough go for comfort food and bubbly. About the pair’s original song, Elizabeth says, “I wanted to write something that could be taken as the end of a love affair, but with a second layer that expressed what we’re all feeling,” she says. “These are uncertain times. When everything’s hopeless, throw a party.” It’s one of several originals on the album, including Evan’s instrumental homage to his old neighborhood, “Gramercy Sunset,” and “Here You Are Again,” a woozy, country-leaning track written by Elizabeth about “that person in your life who you can’t seem to break up with who keeps popping up like a bad penny,” she says. “The most fun part of the tune is I got to play a little bit of Hammond organ,” Evan says. “It was sitting there in the corner of the studio and it called me over.”

In the hot jazz movement, The Hot Sardines stand apart for the innovation, verve and sheer joy they bring to music, both new and old. “It’s a really cool time to be making music,” Elizabeth says. “Especially if you’re making music that started its life 100 years ago.”

Website: www.hotsardines.com

Video: Hot Sardines – Running Wild

Categories: Tucson Jazz Festival

Jan

2

Wed

Arizona Roadrunners @ Wilbur's Grill in The Viscount Hotel

Tickets

Jan 2 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Arizona Roadrunner’s Big Band play jazz from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Wednseday!

Jan

4

Fri

Susan Artemis @ The Dusty Monk

Tickets

Jan 4 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Susan Artemis-piano & vocals

Jan

5

Sat

Susan Artemis @ Hacienda del Sol

Tickets

Jan 5 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Solo jazz on the Terraza Patio

Jan

6

Sun

TJS Sunday Jam @ Brother John’s Beer Bourbon & BBQ

Tickets

Jan 6 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

TJS-SUNDAY-JAM-2 The Tucson Jazz Society joined with the owners of Brother John’s Beer Bourbon & BBQ to bring a Sunday afternoon of America’s music “JAZZ” presented by Tucson’s most talented musicians. If you are a musician or vocalist and you want to sit-in during the jam session, just sign in and join in. We welcome your participation.

Jan

9

Wed

Arizona Roadrunners @ Wilbur's Grill in The Viscount Hotel

Tickets

Jan 9 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Arizona Roadrunner’s Big Band play jazz from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Wednseday!

Jan

11

Fri

Susan Artemis @ The Dusty Monk

Tickets

Jan 11 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Susan Artemis-piano & vocals

Jan

12

Sat

Susan Artemis @ Hacienda del Sol

Tickets

Jan 12 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Solo jazz on the Terraza Patio

Jan

13

Sun

TJS Sunday Jam @ Brother John’s Beer Bourbon & BBQ

Tickets

Jan 13 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

TJS-SUNDAY-JAM-2 The Tucson Jazz Society joined with the owners of Brother John’s Beer Bourbon & BBQ to bring a Sunday afternoon of America’s music “JAZZ” presented by Tucson’s most talented musicians. If you are a musician or vocalist and you want to sit-in during the jam session, just sign in and join in. We welcome your participation.

Jan

16

Wed

Arizona Roadrunners @ Wilbur's Grill in The Viscount Hotel

Tickets

Jan 16 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Arizona Roadrunner’s Big Band play jazz from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Wednseday!

Jan

18

Fri

Susan Artemis @ The Dusty Monk

Tickets

Jan 18 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Susan Artemis-piano & vocals

Jan

19

Sat

NoethenButJazz @ Bar 77 (inside Whole Foods Market)

Tickets

Jan 19 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Mark Noethen, piano and vocals,
Cass Preston, trumpet and vocals
Lanny Webb, bass
Paul Daniel, drums

NoethenButJazz.com

Susan Artemis @ Hacienda del Sol

Tickets

Jan 19 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Solo jazz on the Terraza Patio

The Strawberry Jam Session @ Espresso Art Café

Tickets

Jan 19 @ 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm

Come out and swing with us at the weekly Strawberry Jam Session at Espresso Art Cafe! Our house rhythm section this week will feature John Black on bass, Kai Felix on drums, and Jonny Hines on Piano.