Saturday 12:20 – 2:00 | Gazebo Stage
The Roc City Stompers have one mission in life: to make you move!
This 6 piece hot jazz outfit started lighting the dance floor on fire in the summer of ’10 at events in and around the Rochester, NY area. The band’s trombonist, leader, and former New Orleans resident, Erik Jacobs, got the idea after a trip back to the Crescent City. Erik explains, “I just really missed playing trad jazz and wanted to put a group of folks together in Rochester that loved the early stuff as much as me.” The early group was christened the Crescent City Connection. Named after the bridge and highway system spanning New Orleans with that same name, the band’s original goal was ‘bridging’ the world to the culture and music of that great city.
After a few years and lineup adjustments, the band finally found its groove with Marc Schwartz on reeds (and primary arranger), Nikola Tomic on trumpet, Erik Jacobs on trombone, Mike Blair on bass and tuba, Alan Murphy on piano, and Chris Teal on the drums.
The group has played for numerous swing events in and around the Western NY area, including the national event Stompology, annually hosted by Rochester’s own Groove Juice Swing. The band’s focus is primarily in bringing old recordings to life, and their transcriptions on many favorite songs are almost note-for-note recreations of these timeless classics. That doesn’t mean they’re stuck in the past. Marc Schwartz, the band’s arranger, creates fresh and vibrant arrangements of some of the band’s favorite tunes.
The band also has a proud history of collaborating with some of the finest jazz singers today, including Chicago-based jazz bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst.
The group decided to change their name to the Roc City Stompers in April 2012 to reflect their pride in Rochester and the local music scene and heritage of their native city. The Stompers are planning to record their first EP in the Summer of 2012 and dream of bringing their music to the dancing masses throughout the world.
So put on your dancin’ shoes and work on that Charleston. The Roc City Stompers are gonna make you dance dance dance!
