Swing Vipers Quartet Hard Swingin' Underground Swagger 7pm Wed Feb 18

Doors open at 6:00pm. Try to be seated by 6:30pm to have your dinner order taken. Showtime begins at 7:00pm when we transform the space into a theater.

Out of respect for the performers and other patrons, please keep talking to a whisper during the performance.

Very Limited Occupancy. Tables seating 2, 4, 5 guests, with tables for 6, 8, 12 available upon request. Single, general admission tickets are also available. See The Attached Seating Chart. Admission Is $15.00 - $25.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Having problems with the ticketing system? Call 203-247-4273

Parking: Please park in LaZingara's lot or on Greenwood Ave. or School Street. Please avoid parking in P.T. Barnum Square.

The Swing Vipers

Step into the Underground. Forget the polite jazz of the past. The Swing Vipers take the timeless melodies of the early 20th century and drag them into the light of the 21st with a gritty, hard-edged swagger. Imagine a high-class speakeasy with a modern pulse—where the clarinet screams, the upright bass thumps, and the guitars drive a rhythm that’s as raw as it is sophisticated. From the American Songbook to surprising, sharp-edged harmonies, they deliver a sonic experience that is cinematic, spirited, and dangerously cool.

Michael Boyle - guitar

Michael Boyle has been playing guitar in and around the region for over 40 years. He played in various high school rock bands and eventually starting a Western Swing/Cajun band called Swing Shift with Frank Urbanovitch (fiddle player for the18-time Grammy award winning Jimmy Sturr Orchestra) that played in the area for a few years with great success. After Swing Shift disbanded, Michael was looking for a project that would incorporate his love for music from the 30s and 40s. Discovering the music of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France opened a whole new musical world. Michael started to study with acclaimed jazz guitarist Frank Vignola (who has played with Les Paul, Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing Trio, David Grisman’s Quintet, Tommy Emmanuel and Leon Redbone, to name a few). That eventually lead to Michael starting Metropolitan Hot Club. It was in the Hot Club that Michael met and played with Aaron and Charles. Discovering a common appreciation for old jazz harmonies and arrangements they decided to explore that common ground and that's how Swing Vipers came to be.

Charles Frommer - clarinet, sax, bass, vocals

Charles Frommer began playing professionally while still in high school in Bloomington Indiana. After studying with Ran Blake at the Third Stream Studies program at New England Conservatory he continued working in Boston for ten years and then moved to New York, where he has done varied work in jazz, rock, blues, on and off Broadway shows and tours, and radio, television and film work. Having made the Hudson Valley home base since 1997, he began performing with the Metropolitan Hot Club on select gigs after a spontaneous guest appearance in High Falls. His lifelong affinity for the music of the early jazz age and swing era resulted in a happy and rewarding continuing association with the Hot Club, and made membership in the Swing Vipers a natural fit.

Aaron Lieberman - guitar and vocals

Having provided the Metropolitan Hot Club with solid swinging rhythm guitar playing and an endless supply of tasty solos since 2007, Aaron's founding membership in the Swing Vipers was an obvious choice. Happily, Aaron agreed, and in addition to his guitar skills he has brought his special vocal talent into the mix.

Aaron received his Bachelors of Music degree in jazz guitar from Manhattan School of Music. During that time, he helped to form the rock band, God Street Wine. During their 11-year run, God Street Wine recorded three major label albums and toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, sharing the stage with artists such as Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers, and The Black Crowes. Since that time, Aaron has enjoyed playing many different styles of music, including rock, jazz, and even klezmer, and has written and/or performed with various artists in and around New York City.

Lou Pappas - bass

Bassist Lou Pappas’ career encompasses both Jazz and Classical music. After beginning with orchestras in Colorado and Oklahoma, he moved to New York to accept the position as bassist with the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, from which he retired in 2006. Since then, Mr. Pappas has kept a steady pace of performance with many groups in the New York area, such as the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Taconic Opera Company, and the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. His jazz work includes freelancing with a number of groups from Albany to Woodstock, New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey; including performances with such jazz greats as David Liebman, Byron Stripling, Randy Brecker, Steve Turre, James Williams, Claire Fischer, Chris Flory, Dennis Mackrel, Billy Cobham, and fellow bassist John Clayton. In addition to his playing schedule, he has been teaching private and college level bass for over 40 years, just recently retiring from Vassar College and the State University of New York at New Paltz.

We're sorry, there are no refunds after tickets have been purchased. In the event of a pandemic, rain, snow, or other forms of weather which prohibit a performance, the performance date will be postponed and rescheduled for another date within a reasonable amount of time. If the new date is postponed, a future alternate date will be picked at the discretion of Bethel Jazz and the musical artist. The ticket holder will be notified of postponements, cancelations, and rescheduled dates via email. Tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred to another person in the event a purchaser can not make the rescheduled date. In the event, an artist cancels a date, and Bethel Jazz is unable to reschedule the artist, Bethel Jazz reserves the right to provide a substitute performer of equal quality without notice to the ticket purchaser. If a date is canceled and not rescheduled, Bethel Jazz will provide a refund (in some cases minus the Eventbrite fee) or credit for another performance at the choice of the ticket holder. Bethel Jazz will always do its best to accommodate for changes in seating, table sizes, or changes to tickets.

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