2/24/2022
Performances and Artists
Excerpts from a 2022 Interview - See The Hot Sardines on Thursday, January 25, and Friday, 26, 2024.
The Hot Sardines to Perform Rollicking Mix of Old-World Jazz and Contemporary Hits
In the past several years, sizzling vintage jazz band The Hot Sardines has toured the world, recorded several hit albums and earned millions of YouTube views for its rollicking music videos.
So it’s intriguing that the band’s cofounder, pianist Evan Palazzo, admits he had no intention of performing professionally 14 years ago.
“I decided at the time to try making a traditional jazz band to busk on the streets and to play that music, just as a hobby,” Palazzo recalls.
Palazzo and fellow cofounder, vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol, specifically wanted to share their unique musical taste, combining throwback jazz like Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller with contemporary stylings.
“We like the mixture of 1900s ragtime with 1947 early Bebop with the Beatles and Ray Charles,” Palazzo says.
To their surprise, millions of others like it, too. The Hot Sardines landed an album in the top 10 of the Billboard Jazz chart and continues to tour internationally, including headlining at Lincoln Center.
“People can expect a high-energy show of jazz, from their great-grandparents’ to their parents’ generation, all mixed together in an entertaining salad,” he says. “It’s not a snooze of a show, we’ll warn you.”
A Chance Meeting
Palazzo and Bougerol first met at an open jam session in New York City in 2008, which Palazzo had organized to infuse the city with more old-world jazz.
“I’d grown up loving to play that music, ensconced in my grandparents’ generation, and it turns out so did Elizabeth,” Palazzo recalls.
Even though Palazzo was working in real estate at the time, and Bougerol as a writer, they soon found wildly talented young musicians eager to join them.
“We found ourselves with this huge talent of musicians who were really enthusiastic about rediscovering and playing that music, and playing it for people today,” he says.
The band started playing at open mics, soon attracted a tap dancer, and eventually landed paid gigs.
“Things steadily got bigger and bigger, until we found ourselves with a record deal and touring,” he says. “Elizabeth and I both quit our jobs, and that was seven years ago and we haven’t looked back since.”
From Film Scoring to First Vegas Show
The Hot Sardines builds a widespread following not just through its vintage-contemporary sound, but also through the band’s infectious performance style.
“Engaging the audience any way we can is the critical aspect,” Palazzo says. “We’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll talk to the audience, tease them, include them. We don’t love the fourth wall.”
Their delightful performances earned the attention of film director Greg Mottola, who recently tapped the band to score and record music for new feature film “Confess, Fletch” starring Jon Hamm, which kept the band busy during the pandemic.
“(The director) was a secret fan of The Hot Sardines,” Palazzo said. “We always tell young people, ‘if you do what you love, things happen.’”
The band feels especially eager for the upcoming performance at The Smith Center, marking the band’s first official public performance in Las Vegas.
The Hot Sardines draws much inspiration from Vegas’ past legendary headliners like Louis Prima and the Rat Pack, Palazzo adds.
“Playing in Las Vegas is huge, with the iconic nature of how this music interacts with your city,” he says. “In a strange way, this is coming to a place that has always been important to us.”