“We all need to get out and have some fun in the midst of this crazy time”
So said bassist Katie Cavera before counting off the beat as a clarion call to get the packed house at The Grape on their feet and dancing their cares away. Along with Paige Herschell/voc-dr, Jenna Colombet/vi and Dani Vargas/g, the quartet of San Lyon mixed doses of Django Reinhardt and The Boswell Sisters with a double shot of swing that filled the night with two stepping heaven.
The dancers consisted of young, old, fast, slow, calculated, free, sliders, bouncers, stompers and Lindy Hoppers, all having the light-footed times of their lives along with the more sedentary fans, as Herschell cooed like a canary while playing a nifty snare, melodic and even the kazoo as Colombet’s Rive Gauche violin teamed with Vargas’ gypsy jazz on pieces like “Some OF These Days”. Vargas was in a Hot Club of France mood all night with his solos, particularly on instrumental classics like “Honeysuckle Rose” and a drop dead gorgeous “Stardust” while he tapped into his inner Scotty Moore when plugging in with a cozy Herschel on “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” and the dames in three part harmony on “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”.
Meanwhile, the beret’d Colombet took the listeners and hoofers to the bohemian Left Bank as she cooed to “J’attendrai”, Je Me Voyas Deja” and “Je Me Suis Tout Petit”. Bon ton roulet! Paige gave a California Cool “Devil May Care” before hitting the kazoo for Tin Pan Alley styled original “Starry Eyed”. Cavera then pulled on her banjo and Colombet switched to bass and the ladies veered around some hot harmonies on “Fleur Bleue” and closed up the first sweaty set with the aptly titled “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”, finally giving the audience a chance for a rest.
As Art Blakey used to say, “All jazz is dance music”, and the quartet San Lyon reminded the full house that music was made for the feet and heart as well as the ears.
Upcoming shows at The Grape include Will Brahm 01/17, Bobby West 01/18, Brian Charette-Organ Cream 01/23, Andrew Synowiec & Oz Noy 01/24 and Bunny Brunel 01/31