From the New York Hot Jazz Fest

The sixth annual New York Hot Jazz Festival, held Sunday, September 30, at the McKittrick Hotel on West 27th Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, presented no fewer than seventeen different musical aggregations, ranging from one-man Tuba Machine to the 11-piece Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks. This year’s themes were the 300th anniversary of the founding of New Orleans and the centennial of the introduction of jazz to France via Lt. James Reese Europe’s Harlem Hellfighters. In keeping with these themes, festival founder and curator Michael Katsobashvili brought musicians from both places. From the Big Easy came clarinetist Evan Christopher, trombonist Charlie Halloran, and vocalist Sasha Masakowski. The “French connection” was soprano saxophonist Olivier Franc and his pianist son Jean Baptiste, in addition to Hot Sardines vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol. Although not part of the festival per se, reedman Evan Arntzen’s Animule Dance played for a two-hour brunch starting at 2 pm on the upstairs outdoor terrace. The weather fortunately cooperated, although the terrace is at least partly roofed over in case of rain. Brunch was included for people who bought patron tickets. Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxt