Earlier this year, Asheville’s Firecracker Jazz Band received an out-of-the-blue phone call inviting them to perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of 15-day festival Swing, Swing, Swing.
“We seem to be the only traditionally-oriented jazz band playing,” says Firecracker pianist Andrew J. Fletcher. “We’ve talked a little bit about our set list. We’ve been given an hour and that’s enough time to play the hits. We’re not going to change our sound, we’re going to stick to the traditional stuff we do. We’ll play what we’ve been known for on our albums.”
Firecracker Jazz Band performs on Tuesday, Nov. 15 on the Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. The show is free (if you’re in D.C.) and will be broadcast live here.
“It’s a big honor for us and we’re pretty excited,” says Fletcher. The band is also excited about the release of new album, Firecracker Jazz Band Meets the Wild Man. The title is borrowed from Jelly Roll Morton’s “Wild Man Blues.” Firecracker Jazz Band throws a CD release party on Saturday. Nov. 26 at MoDaddy’s.
