Big band Death and Taxes to play Valentine's Day on Alameda's Hornet

"The last swing music revival of the late 1990s heralded in by groups like the Brian Setzer Orchestra may have seemed like the end of the line for the big band-fueled dance craziness just don't tell that to Rebecca Roudman. A classical music student at Cal State Hayward (today's CSU East Bay) in the late 1990s, Roudman and her future husband we're so into jumpin' and jivin' that they did made up fake IDs to let themselves get into swing dance clubs in San Francisco."

"We rode the wave of the '90s swing revival, says Roudman, a classically trained cellist who is now the orchestra director at her alma mater. Roudman and her husband, Jason Eckl, will return Feb. 14 along with a cast of rotating musicians to Alameda's USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum for a follow-up to last year's Valentine's Day concert with their swing band Death and Taxes."

"Death and Taxes formed when Roudman became aware that Cal State East Bay's jazz band was in danger of being nixed about three years ago. We were worried that all the young performers in the group wouldn't have a chance to play jazz. So we thought we should form a jazz band of seasoned professionals and these young players. The end result is Death and Taxes it's a fun mix of experienced players and energetic up-and-comers, says Roudman."

Rebecca Roudman, a classically trained cellist and orchestra director, became immersed in the late-1990s swing revival and pursued swing dancing in San Francisco. She and her husband, Jason Eckl, formed the swing band Death and Taxes, with Roudman as sultry lead singer and electric cellist and Eckl as guitarist and arranger. The band started to preserve performance opportunities after Cal State East Bay's jazz band faced cancellation, combining experienced professionals with energetic up-and-comers. Death and Taxes performs locally and internationally, receiving enthusiastic responses in Europe, and schedules concerts such as a Valentine's Day show at Alameda's USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum.

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