Paris in the Jazz Age

To listen, click on the Music Horn at left.

With Bob Moreen at the ivories and Claudia Hommel sometimes on top of the piano, we follow the love affair between American jazz performers and the jazz-crazy public of Paris.

Storm in with James Reese Europe's 369th Infantry Hellfighter's Jazz Band, strut the cakewalk, shake the shimmy with Bricktop, dance the Charleston with Josephine Baker, swoon with Mistinguett and Maurice Chevalier, croon with Cole Porter, sing the blues with Duke Ellington, go avant-garde with Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Kurt Weill, and swing with the French "zazous". It's the "crazy years" between World Wars in jazz hot Paris.

Inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibit of The Jazz Age in Paris, 1910-1940, this show was commissioned by the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago. Subsequent performances include Le Chat Noir and the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans; the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA (where we sang for Josephine Baker's son Jean-Claude); the Mansfield Richland Public Library, OH and more.

Invite your audience to dress for the occasion in flapper dresses, spats and tails! Devised originally for piano and 2 voices, we love to travel this show with piano, accordion and banjo and have local jazzers sit in. A Vocal Canvas version with projected images is also ready at hand.

Songlist:

Irving Berlin and compatriots: Alexander's Ragtime Band; International Rag; How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?

Ragtime at the Music Hall: Erik Satie's La Diva de l'Empire; from Williams and Walker's "In Dahomey", I Wants to Be a Actor Lady

Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake: I'm just wild about Harry, Shuffle along; I'm Just Simply Full of Jazz

Josephine Baker: Aux Iles Hawaii; J'ai deux amours (Two Loves Have I)

Bricktop: Insufficient Sweetie, Black Bottom, Charleston

Cole Porter: Miss Otis Regrets; Let's Do It; Let's Misbehave; I'm in Love again; Paree, What Did You Do to Me

Maurice Chevalier, Mistinguett and Dolly: Mon homme/My Man; Louise; Valentine; Y'a d'la joie; Ca c'est Paris; Dolly 25

The "serious" composers Poulenc, Weill & Milhaud: Les Chemins de l'Amour, Hôtel, Mon Histoire, Je ne t'aime pas

Louis Armstrong: Wild Man Blues; St. Louis Blues

Changing times: Madame La Marquise; Last Time I saw Paris.; Je suis Swing