The N'Euro Jazz Band

The N'Euro Jazz Band: Swing for a Dream

by Jack Bowers
August 2, 2002

The N'Euro Jazz Band is actually a French ensemble looking for a wider audience, hence its more inclusive name. Composed of “musicians amateurs et talenteux," it is patterned after that country's most enduring and successful big band, the one led by pianist Claude Bolling. With two exceptions -- Bolling's “The Bankers" and “Dors Bonhomme" -- the repertoire consists of tried-and-true themes, performed capably but without much élan, as the French would say. On a continuum, N'Euro is closer to Lawrence ...