Released: 1995
Tracks: Happy Feet; Kazango; Le Poinçonneur des Lilas; After You’ve Gone; Douce Ambiance; Blues en Mineur; No Lo Visto; Place de Brouckere; Black Trombone; Mozzarella Rag; Minor Swing; Come Di; Y la Chalupa Va
Best tracks: Kazango, No Lo Visto
Track to skip: Black Trombone
Ah, so much better! The original version, the one that set the ball rolling. The first of *3* versions! This isn’t my favorite of the two versions I have (a certain vocalist makes the 2nd version better), but I still love listening to this. The band (Kathy Kiser-vocals, Olivier Giraud-guitar/vocals, Todd Wulfmeyer-bass, Glover Gill-piano/kazoo/vocals & Adam Berlin-drums) have large amounts of excitement on this album. It was recorded live at the Continental Club in Austin and has a great feel to it. The band and audience are obviously having a lot of fun.
8 ½ Souvenirs are classified as a ‘jazz’ band, but they’re really not jazz in the sense that Charlie Parker and John Coltrane are. They fit in more with the ‘European’ style of jazz; think Django Reinhardt (4 of the songs on here are by him), Parisian, Tango, Italian, smoky French nightclub-kinda vibe and you get a good idea what they sound like. Like the best Austin bands, you really can’t pin them down under one listing and they’re frequently identified as being in many genres.
All 5 are great musicians, but the band is primarily Giraud and Gill. Kathy Kiser is a good vocalist, but this would be her last major stint with the band and she was replaced by the angelic and goddess-like Juliana Sheffield (more about her on the next album). Both Giraud and Gill are absolute monsters and are by far the highlights of this disc. Fantastic musicians.
There is a lot of humor in the music, a lot of swing, and every tune is designed for serious dancing. I have no idea if the band is still around, or who (besides Giraud) is still there, but back in the day they were absolutely one of the highlights of the Austin music scene. This is a great live document and I highly recommend it (remember: there are three versions, this is from 1995).
Rating: 93
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