Swingtime! a lively musical revue, promises a jumpin,' singin,' movin' and groovin' good time at Fairfield University on Friday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center of the Arts.

The show features Warren Vaché and the New York City All-Star Band and, direct from London, the sensational swing dancers, the Jivin' Lindy Hoppers. This high-energy six-member ensemble, led by founders Terry Monaghan and Warren Hayes, has won wide acclaim in Europe and the United States for preserving the great American dance styles from the 1930s, '40s and '50s.

The musical backbone of Swingtime! will feature everything from the jitterbug to the Lindy Hop, with fresh new arrangements of the swinging compositions of the era's great band leaders such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Glen Miller and more.

For nearly three decades, Vaché has pleased audiences worldwide with his magical cornet through his recordings and appearances on stage, screen, radio and television. He was featured in the recent jazz concert tour of Johnny Mercer music based on the best-selling book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and has performed with the Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center jazz bands as well as in major jazz festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival, the JVC and Playboy jazz festivals.

The Jivin' Lindy Hoppers (JHL) are a product of a cultural intersection of two trends - the 1983 revival of the Lindy Hop and the 1984 upsurge of interest in dance in the United Kingdom. Within 11 months of their founding the JHL was on stage at the Royal Festival Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra. They further established themselves by taking on a wide variety of work in dance, jazz and commercial worlds. Highlights of this period include three performances at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival and appearances as part of Lincoln Center's community holiday program for more than 9,000 New York schoolchildren.

Posted On: 01-15-2000 09:01 AM

Volume: 32 Number: 152