The Hot Sardines: Timeless Jazz That Fuels The Heart And Soul ~ Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2019 Review

[ADELAIDE PREMIERE ~ USA ~ IF YOU LOVE… MUSIC THAT MOVES YOU] The Famous Spiegeltent, Fri 7 Jun. The Famous Spiegeltent is packed to the rafters for the first of two sell-out nights to hear the Hot Sardines reproduce some scorching music from the first half of last century. Basically the project of singer Elizabeth Bougerol and pianist/bandleader Evan Palazzo, the New York-based Hot Sardines have been paying homage to this early jazz, which Bougerol describes as the pop music of its time, for several years now. Things start gently enough with Cole Porter’s I Love Paris, but much in the style of their recent release Welcome Home, Bon Voyage, things soon heat up as each of the musicians take turns to show off their instrument. With a three piece brass section including trombonist Todd Londagin, Adelaide trumpeter Josh Trenoweth and the clarinet and tenor sax of Ben Golder-Novick there is plenty to show off! By the time the band is steaming through (Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey at the end of their set the audience has well forgotten how cold it is outside. Visually, interest is added to things with the inclusion of a tap dancer, A.C. Lincoln, who, even when seated is constantly using his feet as a percussive instrument, but who also regularly leaps to his feet for a quick workout. In Sophie Tucker’s Some Of These Days he seems to set the pace for the others to follow. Unusually for this band tonight’s line-up features a female rhythm section, with Beth Goodfellow on drums and Adelaide’s own Bonnie Aue on dupright bass. Bonnie in particular is given some brief solo spots which show off her considerable talent. The addition of two Adelaide musicians in this New York-based outfit is of particular interest to the local crowd. Elizabeth’s introductions to songs are wry and interesting. She explains how the band came about, when her search for a piano player who could play like Fats Waller led her to Evan Palazzo, and this story leads into a rollicking version of Your Feet’s Too Big. Among all the hundred-year-old songs The Hot Sardines find time for one original, Bougerol’s Here You Are Again, a country style love-gone-wrong song given the full trad jazz treatment. The upstanding audience were not wanting a mere encore on this occasion, they wanted another hour of this fabulous music. Let’s hope The Hot Sardines decide to make their way back to Adelaide sometime soon! 4.5 stars Adrian Miller FB: @adelaidecabaretfestival TW: @AdelaideCabaret IG: @adelaidecabaret #adcabfest Image courtesy of Joseph Cultice