The Bratislava Hot Serenaders

I haven't been this excited about discovering a new band in a long time. I mean T-shirts and bumper stickers excited. Part of my interest stems from ethnic solidarity for sure — my ancestors did come from a small mountain town in northeastern Slovakia. But I think if you give them a chance you'll find The Bratislava Hot Serenaders just as impressive as I do. I'm a bit surprised that such a hot group could escape my notice. They've been touring Europe and the Russian Federation for years, landing several times at Whitley Bay, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival and other great events. Most years they spend three weeks traveling the UK. They have recorded eleven CDs and one LP. Two of their Slovak language CDs even became local best-sellers. Their YouTube videos are exciting, well edited, and frequently watched. I should have found them sooner. Frequent readers of this column may be thinking this is another group of 20 somethings I'm raving over but the Bratislava Hot Serenaders are veterans who have been making purist hot dance band jazz for 28 years. The authentic "Hot and Sweet" dance music performances of the 18 piece collective have remained unchanged in concept since 1991. In all honesty I don't think I've ever heard a modern band this big sound so good! The arrangements are by their multi-talented leader and trumpeter, Juraj Bartos. They study the dance band records of late 20