An Evening of Swing Music

When you hear the phrase, “swing music”, does the name Benny Goodman come to mind? Can you picture young women dancing in skirts that swish and twirl? Do you remember teens in saddle shoes doing the Lindy Hop?

For the crowd who attended an Evening of Swing fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the East Fishkill Library, it meant listening to the famous local group, the Dukes and Dutchess Swing Ensemble. On Friday, November 12, the Dutchess, Millie Keyes, sang with her backup duo; Don Twitchell playing saxophone and Robert Puleo at the keyboard. The band’s repertoire consists of over 300 songs that were written between the 1920’s and the1940’s. This trio, which has played at such places as the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel and the Lutheran Home, entertained the library crowd for more than two hours with both well-known songs and songs that were new to everyone, like Silk Stockings . Because the library has lots of open space, some people were brave enough to get up and dance. The finale could not have been better for it was New York, New York.

In addition to the wonderful music, and the attentive volunteer wait staff, the evening’s success was capped off by Tomáš of Parties by Tomáš Catering. Serving a wide variety of appetizers and desserts, among other items, he created individual shrimp quiches, risotto calamari and the pièce de résistance, chocolate truffles. Can you think of a better combination than being able to socialize with friends while eating mouthwatering food and listening to catchy tunes from the past? The evening proved to be such a crowd pleaser, the Friends hope to repeat this fund raiser next year.