The sound of swing is coming to Brackendale just in time to celebrate the eagles' swing through town.
Hot Club of Mars will be performing at the Brackendale Art Gallery (BAG) on Sunday, Jan. 13, mixing classic numbers with a few of their own creations influenced by jazz to Latin flamenco and even Celtic.
The group's returning singer Jennifer Layne said the music is not driven by genre but a shared interest in having fun. "It's a musical gumbo. It's always entertaining," she said.
She first sampled said gumbo back in the 1990s while walking through her neighbourhood in Maple Ridge while the band was jamming in a local club. After hearing a few Mars tunes, she asked to join them on stage.
"They were so hot, I loved them," she explained.
She has weaved in and out of the group since then, now sharing the role of singer with another vocalist, Deanna Knight. When Mars comes to Brackendale, it will be Layne fronting the group.
Having played in town last year, she is already familiar with the unique venue.
"It's beautiful," she said of the BAG. "I like intimate."
Those attending the show can look forward to spiced up versions of old favourites such as a voodoo version of George Gershwin's Summertime and the group's anthem Ella Fitzgerald's It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).
"We do some standards, but we do it like you've never heard before," Layne said.
She credits Harry Connick Jr. for reviving jazz among mainstream music lovers, noting that the sound of swing once carried the stigma of being "Dad's music."
But the group also makes its own efforts to connect with a wide audience adapting some Top 40 hits to suit their style.
"We do actually a really swinging version of a Britney Spears' song ," Layne said. She described how she initially snuck the hit past her bandmates by bringing in a music chart for without revealing its origin. Only after the group pronounced their love for the song, did she reveal where it came from.
Hot Club of Mars performs at BAG on Sunday (Jan. 13). Tickets are $18 and are available at the gallery and Mostly Books.
