"Dubbed "10-piece jazz sensations" (LA Weekly) and "one of the hottest swing bands in LA" (Good Day LA), Lizzy & the Triggermen is forging a path like no other.?

"Underneath the old school glamour is a captivatingly modern band who is just as at home selling out legendary venues like the Troubadour as topping the jazz charts (#3 iTunes) alongside heavyweights like Miles Davis and Kamasi Washington.??

"Part of Lizzy & the Triggermen’s “time traveling genius” (Music Connection) is their ability to thrillingly marry the old with the new, simultaneously transporting the audience back in time, and forward. Like the great tunes of the 1930s which so inspire them, their music boldly tackles our modern troubles and turns them into killer dance songs that fill the audience with joy the way only a wailing horn section can. As their debut EP succinctly states: they make “Good Songs for Bad Times.”?

"At the helm is Lizzy: a charismatic siren with a searing wit and soaring voice. Her “powerhouse vocals” (Broadway World), forged singing opera, recall the great old divas while still sounding completely unique and new. Her songwriting, which Janis Ian likened to Leonard Cohen, is filled with the same biting humor she used to create TV comedies for HBO, Amazon, Legendary, CBS, and the History Channel, garnering multiple Emmy nominations.?

"But the star power doesn’t stop with Lizzy. It emanates through her entire incredible band, a multi-generational dream team of crushers who have played with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Benny Goodman.?

While the band is deeply rooted in the sound and swagger of bands like Basie and Ellington, their music is infused with a myriad of unexpected influences: from R&B to Bebop to Broadway to Indie Rock to even Opera. As Lizzy and her musical director, Dan Barrett (who played with and arranged for Benny Goodman), decided from the jump: they weren’t going to pretend like the last 90 years of music hadn’t happened.?

"There is no doubt that what Lizzy & the Triggermen are doing is audaciously against the grain…but it is clearly resonating across an incredibly broad range of audiences.?

"It is a testament to how versatile and visceral their music is that they have not only toured with iconic rock band, Squeeze, to standing ovations and calls for encores, but also have been selected for top festivals (Tucson Jazz Festival, SXSW) and recently co-headlined Modernism Week alongside Samara Joy and Nancy Sinatra."

Hope to see you there and wishing you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,

Helen & the ACJS Board of Directors.?

SONGS OF THE SEASON

Our souls are still reverberating and singing with joy from the recent Arizona Classic Jazz Festival, but we are now getting ready for a wonderful Christmas program on Sunday, December 3, 1 - 4 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Phoenix-Chandler Golf Resort, One San Marcos Place, Chandler.? This may well be the best Christmas program you will attend all month. ? Dan Reed, a much in demand trumpet player and leader of "Dan Reed's Dixieland Hotshots," says it will be a Christmas Party you will not forget.? ?

This Christmas Party will be filled with danceable Christmas tunes, many of them with a jazzy twist.? Dan will be introducing some new -? to us - players, but all professionals.? Dan's slogan of "Keeping It Fun" will be evident to all in attendance.?

The December 3rd jazz party will begin with the Annual Membership Meeting for ACJS and it starts at 12:45 p.m. ?

This is the time of year when we want to spread cheer to those less fortunate.? If you are planning to attend on the 3rd, it would be very much appreciated if you bring an unwrapped gift along with wrapping paper for a child.? All donations will be given to The Salvation Army for distribution.? Cash donations are also accepted. ?

Cost for the jazz parties is $15 for ACJS members; $20 non-members (become a new member on the 3rd and get in free that day; membership for a full twelve months is $35 per couple, $25 single).? There are two dance floors in the San Tan Room and a choice of table or theater seating.? For more information, go to or call (480)620-3941.