
JazzFlits Review
JAZZ ON RECORD – TRANSLATED FROM DUTCH REVIEW
The swing and rhythm & blues, which developed alongside bebop in the 1940s, are still being used as a source of inspiration. British pop singer Joe Jackson already revived the festive jump & jive in a distant past. Over here, in the Netherlands, we have (had) several bands which did the same. The name Jump’n Jive from Zwolle comes to mind. And the Amsterdam Bob Color, although they moved onto rock ’n roll. At the time, that was also the direction this music took: swing – jump ’n jive/rhythm & blues – rock ’n roll. But all this aside.
Danny Bacher is a young American singer, who knows his business. You can hear a touch of Michael Bublé in him, but with plenty of drive and lots of swinging. Bacher has a lot of fun performing, and it shows. He draws from the work of Louis Jordan for the jump and rhythm & blues. He gets ballads from Louis Armstrong, and polite rock ’n roll from Louis Prima, including the medley ‘Just a gigolo/I ain’t got nobody’. Upon first hearing, Bacher uses the possibilities which are given to him a bit politely, but equally lashes out considerably. He’s not only a singer, but also the soprano saxophonist. Bacher moves through the repertoire with ease, aided here and there by the French-American singer Cyrille Aimée. Of course she takes care of ‘La vie en rose’, sung in French. I suspect a lot of dancing goes on during his concerts. This music demands it.
Hessel Fluitman, translated from Dutch by Nico Cartenstadt