Swinging Christmas with the Fats Jazz Band
An evening in the spirit of the First Czechoslovak Republic with the swing orchestra Fats Jazz Band, with period dance lessons from the B-Swing dance school and an exhibition of hats, jewellery and Christmas decorations inspired by the First Republic. Experience the magical atmosphere of the coming Christmas in the rhythm of swing!
The Fats Jazz Band has prepared a special programme for this evening consisting of American, Czech and Slovak Christmas and winter tunes, which will of course sound exactly as they were recorded by the first jazz legends in the 1930s and 1940s. The orchestra boasts a rare collection of historic musical instruments from the 1930s and authentic interpretations of period recordings.
“In our concerts, we will be playing mostly repertoire from our album Swingin’ Christmas. There will be familiar American Christmas songs such as Let It Snow, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells and White Christmas, but not in modern arrangements, but as transcriptions of their earliest recordings from the 30s and 40s, so they are full of pure authentic swing or sweet, but not over-sweetened, romantic tones. We’ll also play Viera Rackova’s well-known Slovak song Do zajtra čakaj, which refers to Christmas and Czech songs: Tiše padá sníh (Tisly falls the snow), originally sung by Jiřina Salačová in 1946, and Jako lastňský sníh (Like last year’s snow), recorded by Arnošt Kafka in 1941 with the orchestra of Karel Vlach. The romance of Christmas will be complemented by the hottest instrumental swing songs“, informs the bandleader, Ladislav Fančovič.
The Fats Jazz Band is an authentic hot jazz and swing orchestra – bandleader Ladislav Fančovič transcribes arrangements from original old recordings into sheet music by transcription. Therefore, you have a unique opportunity to hear jazz hits performed by them exactly as they were recorded by jazz legends of their time. Also, the reconstructed musical instruments, period dress and overall expression of the orchestra and singers are in complete harmony with the era they represent.
Despite its, one might say, old-fashionedness, the sound of the orchestra evokes something timeless in people. The Fats Jazz Band brings old-time songs into the present with its spontaneous interpretation. It is the spontaneity that has given the music of this period its charm, and it is the Fats Jazz Band that will undoubtedly bring you into the present.
