Celebrating the soft opening of Hermann’s Jazz Club Upstairs Ballroom with a two-stage festival, including Romanian violin virtuoso Lache Cercel and The Roma Swing Ensemble, Club Voltaire and The Capital City Syncopators, this November 20 event is presented by The Victoria Django Society and Caravan World Rhythms.
The show starts at 7 pm.
The night will feature Roma Swing, Baltic, Tin Pan Alley and Depression Era Jazz as The Victoria Django Festival transports guests to the Roaring Twenties and the Dirty Thirties in the gorgeous, newly minted Upstairs (ballroom stage) and the Downstairs Jazz Club (Speakeasy Stage) at Hermann’s Jazz Club.
Here’s a closer look at the featured artists:
• Lache Cercel & The Roma Swing Ensemble: Bringing passion of traditional Eastern European melodies with swinging jazz harmonies and a little Egyptian percussion, this ensemble represents the latest chapter in an important movement in Canadian World Music—elite musicians from around the world who settle in Canada and create music that incorporates their own traditions with influences they find surrounding them here.
Before leaving his homeland, Lache Cercel was one of Romania’s premier musicians. He trained at the Academy of Arts in Bucharest, became a soloist with the Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and, in 1986, was awarded the “Artist of the People” citation by the Romanian government. lachecercel.com
• The Capital City Syncopators: Victoria’s finest prohibition-era dance band offers a delicious stew of traditional jazz, western swing and ‘80s favourites. This eccentric five-piece will be certain to sweep you off your feet. mccaghertymusic.com/projects/49-2/
• Club Voltaire: Featuring a starry lineup of well-loved instrumentalists, Club Voltaire brings influences of jug band, Latin and traditional jazz to the Roma Swing genre. Featuring Richard Moody, Adam Dobres, Oliver Swain and Paul Dowd. oliverswain.com
Tickets are $30 and available at
hermannsjazz.com.