The Hot Sardines

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The Hot Sardines
The Hot Sardines jazz band.png
Photograph by LeAnn Mueller
Background information
OriginNew York City, United States
Genres
  • Decca/Universal
MembersSee full list
Websitehotsardines.com

The Hot Sardines is an American jazz band formed in New York City in 2007 by artistic director, singer, and writer Elizabeth Bougerol and artistic director, actor and pianist Evan Palazzo.[1] The Sardines emphasize both authenticity and irreverence in their performances.[1]

History

New York City origins (2006–2007)

Evan Palazzo, the bandleader and pianist, is a native New Yorker.

the Big Apple, he made a living as an actor in theater and film production, as well as continued working on his music.[6] In 2007, he released an album titled Finding His Stride featuring his special brand of stride piano music with a "ragged" rhythm.[7] For a while Evan was a trouper in chanteuse Lauren Ambrose's band, The Leisure Class.[6] He appeared in scenes playing the piano in several films. His spouse, actress Jennifer Weedon,[8] knowing of Evan's desire to start a jazz band, placed an ad on Craigslist
for him. Soon Evan was getting together with other musicians for informal jam sessions.

Elizabeth Bougerol, the band's frontwoman, vocalist and occasional

vet but did not have the stomach for it.[4] She earned a bachelor's degree from Brock University and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She edited city guides on the internet and created editorial websites as well as writing freelance for magazines and book projects.[11] Like Palazzo, she nurtured a lifelong passion for music, especially pop from the 1920s to 1950s – performed by the likes of Fats Waller and Ray Charles. An autodidactic singer, she haunted live performance venues in New York City, imploring her favorite artists for the opportunity to sing with them. However, although naturally gifted with "a sweet and soulful voice,"[10] she nevertheless was turned down because she had no professional background. Undaunted, she taught herself to play the washboard–jug band style and began placing advertisements on Craigslist searching for others who shared her fervid enthusiasm for early jazz.[11]

Serendipitously, Evan and Elizabeth both answered the same Craigslist ad for a traditional jazz jam occurring at a noodle shop near Times Square in Manhattan.[2][12][1] Elizabeth recalled the chance encounter "was like an instant musical connection. We started trading stories of songs and singers we loved while growing up, naming our biggest influences and trying out tunes together."[13] They discovered their mutual admiration of Louis Armstrong and Harlem stride style jazz legend Thomas "Fats" Waller.[1] "I started playing [Fats Waller's] 'Your Feet's Too Big' on the piano and Elizabeth joined in like we'd been singing that duet together for decades," Palazzo recalled.[11] Elizabeth recounted how "everyone else in the room just faded away while we geeked out."[13]

The duo began regularly meeting to play music for their own enjoyment.

hoofer, Edwin "Fast Eddy" Francisco.[15] Eddy stopped by Evan's domicile while they were rehearsing and began to tap along to the music. Elizabeth accompanied Eddy's rhythmic tapping on a DublHandi washboard that she had purchased at a nearby hardware store. Thus the early Sardines tap-and-washboard percussion section was born.[11][3]

An hour later, the intrepid trio departed for their first open-mic gig at a coffeehouse on the last Q train stop in Queens.[12] They had to list a name on the call sheet for their group to perform at the event. They wanted "hot" in the name to indicate the kind of jazz they played, something like Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven groups.[14] Inspired by a tin of spicy sardines that Elizabeth had found at a grocery, they christened the band as The Hot Sardines.[14]

Early years and debut album (2007–2010)

"Miz Elizabeth" Bougerol on left. Top to bottom: Jason Prover, Nick Myers, Joe McDonough, Evan Crane, Alex Raderman, Evan "Bibs" Palazzo. (Photo by LeAnn Mueller.)
"Miz Elizabeth" Bougerol on left. Top to bottom: Jason Prover, Nick Myers, Joe McDonough, Evan Crane, Alex Raderman, Evan "Bibs" Palazzo. (Photo by LeAnn Mueller.)

For several years, The Hot Sardines played free gigs for friends and at small open-mic venues such as the now-shuttered Banjo Jim's on the

busking in the subway and dragging friends out to look for bars with open mikes."[11] Unexpectedly, they became part of an alcohol-fueled flash mob scene "in New York, where people go online and find the location and the secret password, and then 300 people show up dressed in vintage attire and party the night away."[11][17]

"We never intended to start a professional outfit," Palazzo said regarding their formative years. "We wanted to do it has a hobby, [but] we found ourselves getting gigs."[14] Over the next couple of years the band attracted musicians from prestigious institutions like the Juilliard School and Berklee, accomplished professionals who were unafraid to "get down and dirty" with early American jazz.[16] Slowly, the core group of the band grew to a septet and then an octet, with Mike Sailors on cornet, Jason Prover on trumpet, Evan "Sugar" Crane on sousaphone and bass, Nick Myers on saxophone and clarinet, and Alex "Tastykakes" Raderman on drums.[11]

During the economic downturn known as the

Dixieland heading."[19] This revival was largely ascribed to the popularity of television programs such as Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire which renewed interest in the Roaring Twenties and, in particular, the frenzied underground music of the Prohibition-era speakeasies.[10]

Amid this jazz revival, a turning point for the Hot Sardines came in 2010 when they performed for the first time at the

aerialists swinging from the ceiling.[17] Due to its local prestige, performing at the Mermaid was deemed a coming-of-age moment in the band's evolution. "We all [still] love playing at the Shanghai Mermaid," Palazzo stated in 2015, "it's about as close as you can get to time-travel to the 1930s."[4]

Soon after, the Sardines' next big break occurred in June 2011 due to Bougerol's ability to sing in both English and French.

Bad Plus and French gypsy-jazz artist Zaz.[4]

High-profile gigs started rolling in, and the Sardines' debut album Shanghai'd premiered in July 2011 to favorable reviews.[25] They went on to have 17 consecutive sold-out shows at Joe's Pub starting in 2012.[26] The Sardines were soon invited in 2012 to represent New York in front of 25,000 spectators at Festival d'Île de France in Paris.[21]

Further albums and tours (2012–present)

"Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (2014)
Sample of the 1932 Yiddish song "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" which appeared on The Hot Sardines (2014) album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

During the next several years, the Sardines released several follow-up albums via the Eleven Records label including Comes Love (December 2013),[27] The Hot Sardines' Lowdown Little Christmas Record (December 2013),[28] and Sardine 3: Frolicking at the Playground (February 2014) recorded at The Music Playground.[29]

Due to their success, larger record labels such as

Decca/Universal Music Classics began taking an interest in the piscine troupe. Subsequently, their first major label album – eponymously-titled The Hot Sardines – was released on the Decca/Universal label in October 2014.[30] This 2014 self-titled album contained both jazz classics and original Sardines' compositions and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts in August 2015,[31] as well as went to No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz charts in the U.S. and U.K.[3] It remained in the top 10 on the Billboard Jazz Chart for more than a year.[24] Meanwhile, the band continued their frequent pilgrimages to Joe's Pub, Shanghai Mermaid, and Midsummer Night Swing.[32][12][33][34][35] They became virtual regulars, if not inmates, at André Balazs' posh Top of the Standard.[36]

In 2014, they performed at the

Tony Award-winner Bill Elliott. The song "Wake Up in Paris" – written by Bougerol[14] – made its debut at The Pops' shows and was duly praised. "The real stunner was 'Wake Up in Paris'," wrote The Boston Globe at the time, adding that "with sweet, lush, Technicolor strings, it was hard to imagine how it could possibly work without orchestral accompaniment. But work it did."[39] (The Globe also noted the presence of Sardines' fans who had attended in flapper cosplay attire.[39]
)

Later that year, in October 2014, the Sardines headlined the grand reopening of the

Bahamas.[41][42]
)

The Sardines performing in 2015 at Texas A&M University.
The Sardines performing in 2015 at Texas A&M University.

On June 16, 2016, the troupe released French Fries + Champagne, their second album on the Decca/Universal label, which featured

acid trip."[43] French Fries + Champagne debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's Jazz Traditional Chart, No. 6 on Jazz Current and Top 20 Heatseekers Chart and was No. 1 on both iTunes' and Amazon's jazz charts.[24]

In April 2019, the Sardines released their eighth album, Welcome Home, Bon Voyage.

Koerner Hall in Toronto.[45] The album's release loosely coincided with the Sardines' prolonged stopover at Club Cumming, the East Village cabaret owned by actor Alan Cumming, a "wonderfully bizarre"[46] establishment renowned for its drag shows, knitting nights, and downtown queer fusion.[46] (The same month, Cumming performed on stage with the Sardines during their residency at his cabaret.[47]
)

As of 2019, the Hot Sardines "have performed all over the world, notching more than 100 gigs a year."

postmillennial early-jazz spotlight with as much gusto as The Hot Sardines. An eight-piece outfit [which] has devoted more than the last decade to a razzle-dazzle reclamation of prewar swing, often with a healthy dose of humor."[45] For their own part, the Sardines remain light-hearted about their success and insist their continued goal is to promote cultural awareness of little-known 20th century jazz pioneers. "If we could contribute to that in the smallest way," Palazzo stated in a Star-Gazette interview, "our work is done."[3]

Band members

Although an eight-piece ensemble is typical for their live performances,[24] the size of the band fluctuates. Visiting members have included:[48][49][50][51][29][28][52]

  • Tom Abbott[52] – saxophone, clarinet
  • Rob Adkins[52] – bass
  • Ricky Alexander – clarinet, saxophone
  • Peter Anderson[52] – saxophone, clarinet
  • Will Anderson – saxophone, clarinet
  • David Berger[14][53] – drums/percussion
  • Paul Brandenburg[14] – trumpet
  • Geoff Burke – reeds
  • "Miz Elizabeth" Bougerol[13] – vocals, washboard
  • Evan "Sugar" Crane[13][48] – bass, sousaphone
  • Rob Edwards – trombone
  • "Fast Eddy" Francisco[54][15] – tap dancer
  • Daniel Glass – percussion
  • J. Walter Hawkes[53] – trombone, ukulele
  • Luke Hawkins – tap dancer
  • Justin Hines[52] – percussion
  • Noah Hocker[53] – trumpet
  • Josh Holcomb[51] – trombone, sousaphone
  • Kevin Hseih[52] – bass
  • Aaron Kimmel – percussion
  • Pete Lanctot[51] – violin, phonofiddle
  • Britta Langsjoen[52] – trombone
  • A.C. Lincoln[53] – tap dancer
  • Dan Lipsitz[51] – clarinet, saxophone
  • Todd Londagin[14] – trombone
  • Kevin "The Professor" McDonald[51] – drums
  • Joe McDonough[52][50] – trombone
  • Victor Murillo – bass
  • Nick Myers[54][53] – saxophone, clarinet
  • Drew Nugent[52] – trumpet, cornet
  • Bob "Pinky" Parins[51] – guitar
  • Evan "Bibs" Palazzo[54][13] – piano, accordion
  • Jason Prover[54][48] – trumpet, percussion
  • Alex "Tastykakes" Raderman[29][13] – drums
  • Sam "Fez" Raderman[51][48] – banjo, guitar
  • Jay Rattman[52] – saxophone, clarinet
  • Nick Russo[52] – guitar
  • Mike Sailors[54] – trumpet, valve trombone

Style and influences

Both Palazzo and Bougerol have cited Fats Waller's Harlem stride style as one of the Sardines' key influences.[1][10]
Both Palazzo and Bougerol have cited Fats Waller's Harlem stride style as one of the Sardines' key influences.[1][10]

Nothing is sacred... everything from The Muppets to Bugs Bunny... has infiltrated our music and the way we interpret and perform songs.

— Evan Palazzo, Broadway World article[1]

The Hot Sardines perform hot jazz in an irreverent yet soulful fashion as it was played "in the era when live music was king... with a little glamour, a little grit, and a lot of passion."[55] Critics have attributed the Sardines' particular strength as performers to their interpreting early jazz as "pop music that was written a century ago."[21] Clive Davis wrote in The Times that "one of the many virtues of the retro outfit led by the pianist Evan Palazzo and the singer Elizabeth Bougerol is that it reminds us that there was a time when jazz was a form of entertainment. That's almost a subversive notion now that the music has acquired conservatory status."[56]

Bougerol and Palazzo have posited that hot jazz stagnated precisely because it was performed "half-heartedly and repetitively."[11] They further posit that jazz itself lost popular favor as it became more cerebral and individualistic.[24] "If you think of some of the more recent jazz or later jazz, it can appeal to a more intellectual experience of music… it's not about connecting everyone in the room necessarily," Bougerol stated, whereas jazz a hundred-year ago was "pop music" which emphasized "a joyous, connective experience."[24]

In order to keep their renditions of old jazz standards fresh and exciting, the band's song preparations are "bare bones and improvised," as well as largely dictated by Palazzo mere seconds before the song's performance: "I put out signs with my hand like a catcher and call the kinds of solos we do, so every time we play a song it is slightly different. We also change set lists from night to night, and we're apt to change our set list midstream."[11]

The band's emphasis on improvisation and gusto led the Festival d'Île de France to characterize their raucous style as "a jubilant jazz" which evokes "Renaissance Harlem cabarets."[30][57] Other critics have likened the band's "unique repertoire, and a sound and style that are distinctly their own"[15] to "a slice of between-the-wars Paris via New Orleans."[58][12]

While the band writes and performs jazz-based material with an early 20th century flavor, they are influenced by an extensive variety of genres and artists. They often cite Fats Waller,[12] Louis Armstrong,[12] Thelonious Monk,[55] Count Basie,[54] Django Reinhardt,[12] Fred Astaire,[55] Mamie Smith,[55] Billie Holiday,[55] the Andrews Sisters,[54] Duke Ellington,[19] Jelly Roll Morton,[10] Peggy Lee,[56] The Mills Brothers,[19] and Ray Charles among others.[13][10][48][59][19]

The band also cites more modern cultural influences. Palazzo has explained that, since the band views jazz as not sacrosanct, their unpretentious interpretations draw upon an electric variety of sources encompassing "

Harry Connick, Jr. to James Brown and Louis Prima."[1] Similarly, Bougerol acknowledged that "a full-on melting pot of musicians both iconic and obscure have influenced our style and song interpretation."[55] They even experiment a bit with Latin American beats.[30] They view such experimentation as one of the key reasons they are able to "captivate 21st century audiences."[60]

Critical reception

Over the years, the Sardines have garnered plaudits from various critics.

The London Times averred their first live show in London was "simply phenomenal, crisp musicianship going hand in hand with immaculate and witty showmanship."[61] PopMatters, an international online magazine of cultural criticism, called them "consistently electrifying."[32][21] Forbes magazine described them as "one of the best jazz bands in New York City today."[36][12] When the Sardines performed at the New York Hot Jazz Festival in May 2015,[62] The New York Times deemed their performance to be "potent and assured."[19]

British newspaper columnist Matthew Kassel of

boater hats and the bow ties and the suspenders and the mugging that serve as a central component of the group's live shows." Regardless, Kassel conceded that "if the music is good, should any of that matter?"[10] Accordingly, despite his professed aversion to nostalgia, Kassel nonetheless found himself "tapping [his] foot in approval of the old-fashioned world they create."[10]

However, in a 2017 review in The Syncopated Times Eli Newberger complained that the band lacked proper reverence for jazz as a venerated art form and did not meet its requisite high standards.[63] In particular, Newberger deprecated Palazzo's rendition of Fats Waller's music as "ponderous" and "clunky."[63] He also objected to Bougerol's liquor-centric stage jokes as insensitive towards those who suffer from alcoholism.[63] However, Newberger did praise "the tap dancer [A.C. Lincoln], who picked up the subtleties, syncopations and accents of the many pieces in which he took extended solo turns, demonstrating the special connection between layered rhythm and melodic variation, like the best classical jazz soloists from Louis Armstrong to 'Fats' Waller to Benny Goodman."[63]

Discography

  • Shanghai'd (2011)[52]
  • Comes Love (Eleven Records, 2013)[27]
  • The Hot Sardines' Lowdown Little Christmas Record (Eleven, 2013[28]
  • Sardine 3: Frolicking at the Playground (Eleven, 2014)[29]
  • Live at Joe's Pub (2014)[51]
  • The Hot Sardines (Decca/Universal, 2014)[50]
  • French Fries + Champagne (Decca/Universal, 2016)[43]
  • Welcome Home, Bon Voyage (Eleven, 2019)[53]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g BroadwayWorld 2014.
  2. ^ a b Simon 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kocher 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Musical Playground 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Scotney 2014.
  6. ^ a b Evan Palazzo's IMDB entry.
  7. ^ Finding His Stride 2008.
  8. ^ Jennifer Weedon's IMDB entry.
  9. ^ Andrews 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kassel 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Weideman 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Weber 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Borden 2015.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Nowlin 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e Friedwald 2013.
  16. ^ a b Eccles Center 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d e Quinlan 2011.
  18. ^ a b CBS News 2015.
  19. ^ a b c d e Chinen 2014.
  20. ^ Campbell 2013b.
  21. ^ a b c d Kelley 2012.
  22. ^ Goffin 2015.
  23. ^ Cohen 2011.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h Farnell 2018.
  25. ^ AllMusic 2011.
  26. ^ Public Theater 2013.
  27. ^ a b Comes Love album 2013.
  28. ^ a b c Lowdown Little Christmas Record 2013.
  29. ^ a b c d Frolicking at the Playground album 2014.
  30. ^ a b c Alleman 2015.
  31. ^ Billboard Charts: August 2015.
  32. ^ a b Public Theater 2014.
  33. ^ Houston 2015.
  34. ^ Campbell 2013a.
  35. ^ The New Yorker 2014.
  36. ^ a b Geromel 2013.
  37. ^ Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 2011.
  38. ^ Powers 2014.
  39. ^ a b Hirsh 2014.
  40. ^ a b Universal Music 2014.
  41. ^ TCM Cruise 2014.
  42. ^ Owen 2014.
  43. ^ a b c d Symonds 2016.
  44. ^ YouTube: "When I Get Low I Get High.".
  45. ^ a b c Chinen 2019.
  46. ^ a b Framke 2018.
  47. ^ Cumming Instagram 2019.
  48. ^ a b c d e Greenlee 2015.
  49. ^ Milkowski 2014.
  50. ^ a b c The Hot Sardines album 2014.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g h Live at Joe's Pub album 2014.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shanghai'd 2011.
  53. ^ a b c d e f Tauss 2019.
  54. ^ a b c d e f g h Fordham 2015.
  55. ^ a b c d e f MidlandsBiz 2014.
  56. ^ a b Davis 2019.
  57. ^ Festival d'Île de France 2012.
  58. ^ Southbank Centre 2014.
  59. ^ Davis 2015.
  60. ^ North Carolina Symphony 2015.
  61. ^ Davis 2014.
  62. ^ The New Yorker 2015.
  63. ^ a b c d Newberger 2017.

Sources

External links

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