Elizabeth Bougerol and Evan Palazzo met when they both answered a Craigslist advertisement in 2007 for an open jam session and bonded over their love for such jazz greats as Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. In 2014, their self-titled debut album, The Hot Sardines, was named by iTunes as one of the best jazz albums of the year. Since then, the band has performed at renowned music festivals in Montreal and Newport. They have performed with an 80-piece orchestra at the Boston Pops, headlined on the Turner Classic Movie Cruise, and sold out more than 25 shows at the iconic Joe's Pub at the public theater in New York City.
Their 2016 album, French Fries and Champagne, featured a duet with Tony Award-winning actor, Alan Cumming. Jazz may be their passion, but it's also their business. For Evan and Elizabeth, going to work almost always means leaving their families to board an airplane for an extended trip. Not only do they have to put on a great performance each and every time they go on stage, they're also responsible for employees, promotion, logistics, profit, and loss.
In this conversation, we learn how the band jumps from playing small jazz gigs in New York to touring performing art centers around the world, and what you can learn from an airline pilot about being a good band leader. We pick up the conversation backstage at The Lyric Theater in Stuart, Florida.
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