Backstage Jazz

Join Prairie Players Civic Theatre on the back patio for Backstage Jazz, the last event in our summer concert series. There will be plenty of food, fun and music. All you need to bring is a lawn chair. There is a $5 cover charge. We will have food and drink on hand too to make your evening complete. The series is sponsored by First Midwest Bank. The August concert is sponsored by Jimmy’s Pizza.

Our fourth and final concert will feature John Miller and the Romantics and food by Jimmy’s Pizza.

John Miller and the Romaniacs
John Miller-Guitar
Joe Park-Guitar
Andy Crawford-Bass
Perry Rask-Saxophone

John Miller leads the Romaniacs on guitar. Joining John are Andy Crawford on bass, Joe Park on guitar, and Larry Harms on clarinet and soprano sax. The Romaniacs play a “gypsy jazz” style of music, based on that played by Django Reinhardt. The Hot Cub of France was the world’s first jazz club, established in 1933. The music was called “jazz hot” by the French. They hired many American artists, but the “house band” was Django’s Hot Club Quintet, who were Gypsies, along with violinist Stephane Grappelli. Grappelli was a trained musician. The Quintet played their version of American jazz, which had the Gypsy “overtones”, which may be referred to as an accent in a language. The Romaniacs have tailored this sound to create a blend of traditional gypsy songs, with a repertoire including classic Django tunes, modern Gypsy jazz and romantic French musettes. The fare includes some light humorous vocals, a la Freddie Taylor. The band swings hard and creates lots of fun for the listeners as well as the performers. Gypsy Jazz is happy romantic music with universal appeal. The Romaniacs’ performance guarantees good times and good feelings.