VOA标准英语2011--Jazz Age Music Rocks Big Apple Club

Jazz Age Music Rocks Big Apple Club

It's been nearly a century since the big band music of the Jazz Age was in full swing, but a nighttime visit to a nightclub in the Big Apple might have you fooled.
On a recent Monday night at Sofia’s, a small nightclub in the Times Square theater district. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, resplendent in tuxedos¹, are onstage above the dance floor, hell-bent on taking their audience of aficionados², dancers and the merely curious back to the “hotsy-totsy” 1920s and 30s - all through the magic of the era’s big band sound.
Bandleader Vince Giordano alternates between string bass³, tuba and saxophone. He's been in love with the music of that era since childhood. 
“This music reflects a period of time in America when things were very upbeat. Maybe a little naive⁴ or experimental," Giordano says. "People had this great festive⁵ mood and they just wanted to live life to the fullest. They didn’t have much in the way of conveniences, but in their life they had a lot. These people were just excited about anything that came out that was new and different. They just went bonkers.”
According to Giordano, the exuberance⁶ of this music was new to 1920s America. The Jazz Age, often fueled by liquor despite Prohibition⁷, contrasted with the restrained formality of the earlier Victorian era.
And although the music was all-American, its beating heart was New York, a fact not lost on the likes of Woody Allen, who often uses the Nighthawks in the soundtracks of his New York-based period films.
“The thing that is amazing about New York is that everybody, in all styles, wound up here, whether it was in ragtime⁸ - fellows like Scott Joplin - coming here in the early days," Giordano says. "You had the early jazz people like Louis Armstrong and James P. Johnson, the next generation of musicians - Benny Goodman and the Dorsey Brothers - they all came here to record, to be on the radio. The swing bands, the great bands up in Harlem, the bebop scene, everything came to New York. They all just sat down and had a feast."
The feast Giordano prepares every week takes hours of work. For example, he plans which pieces from his archive of 60,000 songs he'll feature.
“You’ve got the musicians that have to know this language. This is a special language to play this music. It’s something you have to study and you have to listen and then speak on your instrument," he says. "Back in the 20s, 30s, 40s, it was easy because everyone was speaking that language. But a lot of water has passed under the bridge since those times."
But for saxophone player and clarinetist Daniel Levinson, as with many of the other 10 Nighthawks, this music is modern enough.
“It doesn’t feel like nostalgia⁹. When I hear this music, it feels natural to me and I forget that this music is 80, 90 years old. Playing this music is absolutely mesmerizing¹⁰."
Romance is alive and well at Sofia’s. In a dimly lit booth near the bandstand, Sandy Sacheroff snuggles up to Bob Stichman, her longtime boyfriend, who's nearly old enough to remember when this music was new.
"A lot of young people, they don’t know this kind of music," Stichman says. "If more of them were introduced to this kind of music, I think they’d love it."
Sacheroff agrees. "The music is from the heart. It's so wonderful."
"And the dancing is marvelous," Stichman adds.
In fact, to judge by their perfect Charleston, lindy hop¹¹ and jitterbug moves on the dance floor, many young - or at least young-ish - people have discovered this world.
You can tell by the look of concentration and joy in the faces of Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks as they plunge¹² into another number, it’s a world they plan to inhabit for decades to come.

1 tuxedos   

n.餐服，无尾晚礼服( tuxedo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our services include design and tailoring for wedding gowns, tuxedos and party dressesfrom and American brands. 们的服务范围包括高级婚纱设计定制，高级礼服、派对装设计定制，及欧美一线品牌成衣的驳样定制。 来自互联网
• Most tuxedos are black, but some people like to wear white ones called 'morning suits'. 大多数男士无尾晚礼服是黑色的，不过有些人喜欢穿那种被称为“晨服”的白色装。 来自互联网

2 aficionados   

n.酷爱…者，…迷( aficionado的名词复数 )； 爱看斗牛的人

参考例句：

• West Coast aficionados of postwar coffee-shop architecture(Karal Ann Marling) 西海岸战后咖啡店式建筑的狂热追随者（卡拉尔安马林） 来自互联网
• Clay developed a radical style which appalled boxing aficionados. 克莱发展出一种震惊拳击迷的全新风格。 来自互联网

3 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

4 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

5 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

6 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

7 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

8 ragtime   

n.拉格泰姆音乐

参考例句：

• The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
• African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。

9 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

10 mesmerizing   

adj.有吸引力的，有魅力的v.使入迷( mesmerize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you must be mesmerizing me, Charles. 查尔斯，我想你一定在对我施催眠术啦。 来自辞典例句
• The attendant one-dimensional wave equation has mesmerizing harmonic properties. 伴生的一元波平衡具有迷人的和谐特性。 来自电影对白

11 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

12 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。