Doors at 7:30 pm / Dance Lesson with instructors Cheryl McBride & Michael Marangio at 8:00 pm / Show at 9:00 pm

Tickets are $12 Advance / $15 Day of Show

Buy Tickets Here

Lisa Gonick & the Damfino Players continue 4th Saturday Swing dance series with their hot jazz, swing, and blues styles. As always, the live music at 9 p.m. is preceded by a fine swing dance lesson at 8 p.m.

The Damfino Players are a rare but wonderful treat; this is their first visit since last October’s crowd-pleasing debut.  Singer Lisa Gonick is a longtime Ashkenaz performer, formerly with SwingThing (her singing partner in that group, Cheryl McBride, will join Damfino Players for a few songs tonight). Damfinos guitarist and ukulele player Cliff Moser is also a SwingThing alum; in fact, he and Gonick have been partners in all sorts of projects over the last 16 years. Their current band allows for a more intimate and diverse feel. Tonight they offer a mix of swing, blues, and New Orleans-style hot jazz, along with hokum, novelty tunes and ballads. As they explain, “Think Ukulele Ike with a sweet late ’30s jazz guitar feel.” Their song list includes “Honeysuckle Rose,” “ Stompin’ at the Savoy” and “Blue Skies.” 

 Gonick says, “We love dancers so even when it’s just the two of us, we try to make it so you can’t stop movin’ your feet.” In addition to Gonick on ukulele and vocals, and Moser on hot guitar, the Damfinos are banjo player and guitarist Jeff Green, reeds player Jamison Smeltz, bassist Vic Wong, and pianist Virginia Tichenor.

For updates and more information check out: http://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com. 

Doors at 7:30 pm; Swing Lessons at 8:00 pm with Swing Lesson with Brynna and Rachel
Show at 9:00 pm

Tickets are $12 Advance / $15 at the Door

It’s time for the hottest Crescent City Soul, from New Orleans greats Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, and a host of other favorites, revitalized by pianist Macy Blackman and his hard-driving band the Mighty Fines. They also feature music from their new CD, “Friskin’ the Whiskers.” Originally from Delaware, Macy Blackman made his professional debut at the age of 12 and has played music most of his life, eventually moving to San Francisco. He put together the Mighty Fines in 2003. Relocated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Ken “Snakebite” Jacobs became the band’s baritone saxophonist. Nancy Wright sings and plays tenor sax (she’s worked with everyone from Elvin Bishop to B.B. King), alongside drummer Larry Vann (of Ron Thompson’s Resistors, and Elvin Bishop) and bassist Bing Nathan (Lavay Smith, Lost Weekend).
http://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com/

Doors at 7:30 pm; Dance Lesson at 8:00 pm
Show at 9:00 pm

Tickets are $12 Advance / $15 at the Door

With revivalist zeal, the Stompy Jones band doesn’t just recreate, but breathes new life into the most jumping, rocking, and swinging small band music of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. One of the busiest bands extant, Stompy Jones returns to our stage performing songs from its ever-lengthening set list that includes new favorites from its most recent CD, “Sock It to Me!” Taking its name from a classic Duke Ellington tune, Stompy Jones has performed everywhere from San Francisco’s Top of the Mark to Disneyland (a monthly gig) and Santa Rosa’s Ellington Hall. Big band leader Les Brown said that the sextet has “the best small band sound that I’ve heard in years.” Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010, Stompy Jones has had its music featured in films including “Deuce of Spades” and the award-winning short “All About Alice.” 

The group, originally known as the Swing Session Band, was formed in 1998 to play East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop in the spirit of the hottest jump bands. Its repertoire features rousing revivals of classics by Louis Jordan, Earl Hines, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Prima, Roy Milton, and John Kirby as well as several originals. Stompy Jones boasts musicians who have been playing this music all their lives, with sizzling horns, slapping bass, and irrepressible dance drum beats. Hank Maninger plays guitar and belts and shouts the blues, with trumpeter Rob Dehlinger and saxophonist Keith Crossan trading riffs with boogie-woogie pianist William Beatty. Drummer Lee Beary and bassist “Little David” Rose keep the rhythm section tight.
http://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com/

Doors at 7:30pm.  

At 8:00pm Two Lessons Simultaneously: 
Swing Dance Lesson with Karen Lile and Michael Arntz - Main Ballroom

Balboa Lesson with Cheryl McBride and Michael Marangio - Back Studio

Hosted by Karen and Michael

Tickets are $12 Advance / $15 at the Door

The multi-generational
Cal Alumni Big Band brings dancers’ favorite arrangements from the golden age of 1930s swing through Frank Sinatra’s ’50s hits and more modern dance tunes. Directed by Paul Siebel and managed by Sam Lind, tonight’s band includes 18 instrumentalists and three singers, ranging in age from their 20s to 70s. Established in 1980 to enable grads and alumni of the UC Jazz Ensembles a way to continue playing big band music after leaving Cal, the nonprofit band also sponsors a scholarship fund for current students of the music program. The Cal Alumni Big Band plays monthly gigs at the Bistro in Hayward, as well as occasional fundraisers for the Cal music program. Over the years scores of alums have become members of the Cal Alumni Big Band. Members include students of the first UC Jazz Ensembles (1968) through recent grads.
http://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com/

Doors at 7:30 pm; Dance Lesson with The Breakaway Dancers at 8:00 pm
Show at 9:00 pm

Tickets are $15

The Alpha Rhythm Kings specialize in swing, vintage lounge, jump blues, and boogie woogie. The California band features top quality musicians, with Robert Dehlinger's blazing trumpet and vocal stylings leading the way. 

Fans of Louis Prima, Louis Armstrong, and Harry James love this band! A favorite of swing dancers as well as concert-going audiences, the A.R.K. love sharing their authentic jazzy vibe. 

Frontman Robert has entertained crowds all over the world, from Disneyland to Europe to Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night's Swing in Manhattan. 

In November 2017, The Alpha Rhythm Kings released their debut recording, "California Boogie", an EP featuring their exciting original arrangement of "Oh Marie"!

Doors are at 7:30pm; Dance lesson with Nathan Dias at 8:00pm; Show at 9:00 pm

Tickets are $15

Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s have been the torchbearers of a great American blues musical heritage, not for three years but three decades. Taking their inspiration from the great jump n’ boogie outfits of the late ’40s and early ’50s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll. Woods styled his group after the jumpin’ n’ jivin’, shoutin’ n’ honkin’, pumpin’ n’ poundin’ bands of Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Amos Milburn, and Roy Milton. Adding a healthy dose of New Orleans rhythm and blues, piledrivin’ piano, and some of his own contemporary playful lyrics, Woods and His Rocket 88s forge their own brand of music they call “rock-a-boogie.”