A saxophone with a jazz history of its own and a band that came together in Amsterdam: Bernd Seiferts Dixie-Sause brings two different paths to early jazz to the stage of the Boulevardtheater Dresden. Olivier Franc appears with the Paris Swing Connection, The Fried Seven with their love of the music of the Twenties and Thirties. Of course, the event’s namesake will also be there.

For Franc, the connection to Sidney Bechet is not just a matter of musical preference. His father René Franc played clarinet in orchestras that accompanied the jazz pioneer during his years in France. Olivier Franc now plays Bechet’s own soprano saxophone. The instrument links the evening very directly to the tradition he cultivates with his Paris Swing Connection: New Orleans jazz in France. The recipient of the Prix Sidney Bechet of the Académie du Jazz was a guest at the festival in 2022 with his quintet. We are now welcoming him back in this formation.

The Fried Seven came together at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The musicians come from several European countries; what brought them together was the jazz of the Twenties and Thirties. Their repertoire ranges from Louis Armstrong’s Hot Seven to Duke Ellington, complemented by their own arrangements. The band was already featured at the festival in 2023.

On one side, a tradition passed down through the family; on the other, a shared musical discovery at college: the two bands approach the music of the same era from different angles. Francs Bechet-Verbindung stands alongside a repertoire that ranges from the sound of the Hot Seven to Ellington’s orchestral world. The Sause draws its musical variety from these different points of reference.

Bernd Seifert, the stage persona of Thomas Kaufmann and the house’s master plumber, adds brief appearances. Since 2024, the Dixie-Sause has been part of the festival programme. Before the concert, there will be an opportunity to have a bite to eat and something to drink.