Bringing Sophisticated, Cosmopolitan Swing to The Back Room Speakeasy in NYC
For the past four years, Svetlana & The Delancey Five have been recreating a magical, cosmopolitan world that time forgot with their Monday night residency at swanky Norfolk Street speakeasy, The Back Room. Singer/bandleader Svetlana Shmulyian has fearsome chops, but she uses them very subtly, and her band follows suit. In a demimonde full of cookie-cutter swing jazz bands, she stands out with an approach that on one hand is completely trad yet is also completely individualistic, a sophisticated, globally-inspired take on a revered American sound. And it’s as romantic as you could possibly want: lots of couples make it a date with this band.
The night I heard them, the band was on top of their game, everybody seeming to be in a good-naturedly conspiratorial mood. Trumpeter Mike Sailors’ rat-a-tat solo against tenor saxophonist Michael Hashim’s more balmy lines on a deeply bluesy take of “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” set the tone immediately.
The bandleader then joined them, decked out in a simple but striking black evening dress, heels, and a big pearl necklace. Midway through the set, she left the band by themselves to play a blues while she made the rounds of the room, schmoozing and catching up with a circle of admirers that numbers as many women as men. It was
