For the last two months we’ve been Catching up with New Orleans, meanwhile, Europe has been catching up with us. Many will remember that during the heyday of the Dixieland Festival circuit there were many excellent European groups filling out festival schedules. Eastern Europe, in particular, was exceptionally hot for the early jazz styles they often collectively refer to as Ragtime.
There’s been a generational shift and while there is still plenty of hot jazz to be found, especially in the east, many bands are focused on pleasing the dancers at large swing festivals. If you want to be awed by the strength of the scene there look up LindyhopLT on YouTube for posts from the Harlem Traditional Jazz Dance and Music Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania.
