Swing, jazz and more coming up in old Nicosia

If it is jazz you are after, you can always depend on Sarah’s Jazz Club to deliver. Weekly jazz events are what the old Nicosia bar offers, after all, it’s in its name and in the upcoming weeks more musicians will take its stage.

Welcoming in September, a swing-jazz night with The Steppin’ Out Jazz Band will take place at the bar taking listeners on a journey through the glamorous decade of the 1930s. “During the 1930s,” say organisers, “jazz continued to mature as a musical form. Big bands began transforming it into danceable swing music. Several famous female vocalists got their start as jazz singers in the 1930s, including Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and Judy Garland were all at the top of their game and the charts. Fred Astaire had a nice run in the 1930s and Count Basie established his dominance.

“The global popularity of jazz reflected and helped propel three of the biggest innovations in popular culture between the world wars: radio, gramophone records and commercial venues for social dancing. African American jazz and swing was part of a larger explosion of modern popular music which were products of the movement of people and cultures intertwining together.”

Bringing all of this to the Nicosia music scene on Saturday will be a popular quartet with Alice Ayvazian on vocals, Dimitris Miaris on piano, Kostas Challoumas on bass and Marios Spyrou on drums.

On September 7, Sarah’s Jazz Club will welcome Spanish bassist Xavi Castillo as he joins forces with Cypriot saxophonist Charis Ioannou and drummer Marios Spyrou. Specialising in jazz interpretation in Spain and The Netherlands and now living and working in Denmark, Castillo will bring his vast music knowledge to the Nicosia music scene soon.

He will take the jazz club stage again on the following evening yet this time joining an ensemble to pay tribute to American jazz master Thelonious Monk. “Famed not only for his compositions,” say organisers, “which include Round Midnight and Straight, No Chaser, Thelonious Monk was one of the pioneers of Bebop, a style of jazz known for intricate playing at the virtuoso level. Fast-paced, full of surprises and energy, Thelonious Monk’s playing was a dynamic chapter in the history of jazz.” On stage will be the Next Connection Quartet comprised of Christos Yerolatsitis, Antreas Yerolatsitis, Xavi Castillo and Omiros Miltiadous.

A Night of Swing Live Jazz and Dance

With The Steppin’ Out Jazz Band. September 2. Sarah’s Jazz Club, Nicosia. 9.30pm. Tel: 95-147711

Xavi Castillo

Spanish bassist plays with Cypriot musicians. September 7. Sarah’s Jazz Club, Nicosia. 9.30pm. Tel: 95-147711

Next Connection Quartet

Tribute to American jazz master Thelonious Monk. September 8. Sarah’s Jazz Club, Nicosia. 9.30pm. Tel: 95-147711