page_title: The Hot Sardines
section_title: New York City origins (2006–2007)
hierarchical_section_title: The Hot Sardines / History / New York City origins (2006–2007)
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Pizza new-yorkaise spéciale Hot Sardines (with sardines chaudes Made in Marseille)
context_page_description: The Hot Sardines are an American jazz band formed in New York City in 2007 by artistic director, singer and writer Elizabeth Bougerol and artistic director, actor and pianist Evan Palazzo. Although hailed as "the charismatic front-runners of vintage jazz," the Sardines paradoxically emphasize both authenticity and irreverence in their performances. According to Palazzo, the Sardines do not treat jazz music "with kid gloves, or place it on a pedestal to preserve and adore" and instead play "as if these songs were written this morning, for today's generation." Over time, the Sardines have assembled a unique repertoire with "a sound and a style that are distinctly their own." Their distinctive style has been described by music critics as "wartime Paris by way of New Orleans" while firmly rooted in the "here and now."
context_section_description: Evan Palazzo, the bandleader and pianist, is a native New Yorker. He began playing piano by ear at age three and was beguiled by amateur musicianship his whole life. As a boy, he aspired to be "a performer and an entertainer, but also a combination of Rick Blaine and Victor Laszlo." He was a student at the Waldorf school in New York City and went on to major in theater and musical theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He developed a passion for jazz in general and playing stride jazz piano in particular. Returning to the Big Apple, he made a living as an actor in theater and film production, as well as continued working on his music. In 2007, he released an album titled Finding His Stride featuring his special brand of stride piano music with a "ragged" rhythm. For a while Evan was a trouper in chanteuse Lauren Ambrose's band, The Leisure Class. He appeared in scenes playing the piano in several films. His spouse, actress Jennifer Weedon, knowing of Evan's desire to start a jazz band, placed an ad on Craigslist for him. Soon Evan was getting together with other musicians for informal jam sessions.
  Elizabeth Bougerol, the band's frontwoman, vocalist and occasional washboard player, was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris. She grew up in France, the Ivory Coast, and Canada. While young, she initially wanted to be a vet but did not have the stomach for it. She earned a bachelor's degree from Brock University and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She edited city guides on the internet and created editorial websites as well as writing freelance for magazines and book projects. Like Palazzo, she nurtured a lifelong passion for music, especially pop from the 1920s to 1950s – performed by the likes of Fats Waller and Ray Charles. An autodidactic singer, she haunted live performance venues in New York City, imploring her favorite artists for the opportunity to sing with them. However, although naturally gifted with "a sweet and soulful voice," she nevertheless was turned down because she had no professional background. Undaunted, she taught herself to play the washboard–jug band style and began placing advertisements on Craigslist searching for others who shared her fervid enthusiasm for early jazz.
  Serendipitously, Evan and Elizabeth both answered the same Craigslist ad for a traditional jazz jam occurring at a noodle shop near Times Square in Manhattan. Elizabeth recalled the chance encounter "was like an instant musical connection. We started trading stories of songs and singers we loved while growing up, naming our biggest influences and trying out tunes together." They discovered their mutual admiration of Louis Armstrong and Harlem stride style jazz legend Thomas "Fats" Waller. "I started playing [Fats Waller's] 'Your Feet's Too Big' on the piano and Elizabeth joined in like we'd been singing that duet together for decades," Palazzo recalled. Elizabeth recounted how "everyone else in the room just faded away while we geeked out."
  The duo began regularly meeting to play music for their own enjoyment. A college acquaintance of Evan's – or "Bibs" as he came to be known – heard that they might be looking for a tap dancer for the band and put them in touch with their first hoofer, Edwin "Fast Eddy" Francisco. Eddy stopped by Evan's domicile while they were rehearsing and began to tap along to the music. Elizabeth accompanied Eddy's rhythmic tapping on a DublHandi washboard that she had purchased at a nearby hardware store. Thus the early Sardines tap-and-washboard percussion section was born.
  An hour later, the intrepid trio departed for their first open-mic gig at a coffeehouse on the last Q train stop in Queens. They had to list a name on the call sheet for their group to perform at the event. They wanted "hot" in the name to indicate the kind of jazz they played, something like Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. Inspired by a tin of spicy sardines that Elizabeth had found at a grocery, they christened the band as The Hot Sardines.
caption: The band's name was inspired by spicy sardines and is a reference to their livelier style of jazz.[16]
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