Get ready to move and groove. Put on your Gatsby look and those high heel sneakers. The Jazz Sophisticates Dance Orchestra opens up this year’s Jazz on the Plazz series at Town Plaza Park. Can you East Coast swing dance? Are you a swinger?
This is a dance orchestra—and dance here is used as a verb, as in, “Dance!”
Evelyn and the Jazz Sophisticates Dance Orchestra transports us back to “Jazz Age” elegance and energy. The Jazz Age was a cultural period here in the USA, spanning from 1918—the end of WWI—to 1929 when the stock market crashed.
It was a time of economic prosperity, hedonistic social behavior, flapper culture and the huge popularity of jazz music.
Evelyn and the Jazz Orchestra blend hot jazz rhythms (and feelings of joyful dancing) to live music. In a time when dancers drank bootleg liquor from teacups and you needed a password to get into a speakeasy, jazz prevailed.
Backed by a 14-piece orchestra, Evelyn will fill the air with her lush and warm voice. The solid backing of the Jazz Sophisticates supports her melodious tones. The overall feeling projects the bygone era’s rejection of American morals.
A “flapper” was a stylish, rebellious young woman in the Roaring ‘20s. The hair was bobbed, and knee length (think mini-skirt) drop-waist dresses were in vogue. Heavy makeup was worn. And it came with scandalous behavior: smoking, drinking and dancing The Charleston.
This vintage arrangement brings this pre-depression era to life—capturing both the vitality of the dance floor and the era’s refined atmosphere. Drawing from popular tunes and classic Hollywood film-era influences, Evelyn and the Jazz Sophisticates perform a distinctive take on early jazz traditions. Both nostalgic and transportive, Evelyn and the orchestra will set the tone for the summer of 2026. Classy elevated outdoor eight evenings of jazzy music.
If you are a dancer, you will not be able to sit still. If you are not a dancer, sit back and enjoy listening to this take on 1920s music.
It’s happening Wednesday, July 8, at 6pm in Town Plaza Park. Be there.
Practicing those swing steps is easy: rock, step, triple step, triple step. Repeat. Or, East Coast swing: 1, 2, 3 and 4-5. The leader begins stepping off on the left foot. Or you might step on that leader’s right foot? Have some fun.
Maybe you have forgotten how to swing?
Website: eidievelynjazz.com/jazz-sophisticates-dance-orchestra
Call to reserve a front row seat for the best stage views (510-360-1206). Get a subscription for all eight shows this season—or purchase individually. These seats are assigned seating and include the hospitality lounge area. jazzontheplazz.com
Or bring a picnic-your lawn chairs and sit in the newly replanted grass that surrounds the reserved seating areas. Dance under the majestic redwood trees in quaint downtown Los Gatos.
Up next Wednesday: Pacific Mambo Orchestra (Latin big band)
Do you mambo? You have a week to learn, or sit back and groove to the enticing rhythmic Latin beats.
We have some fabulous dancers in Los Gatos. They do not hold back when the music flows through the redwoods during Jazz on the Plazz.
Who puts this on? This event is a fundraiser for Los Gatos Music & Arts, a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for the Silicon Valley community to enjoy and appreciate a variety of fine arts through live performances, exhibitions and educational programs.
