Jazz at the Péristyle

 

The City of Lyon sponsors summer jazz performances on the covered porch of the opera house (known as the Péristyle).   And, here's a view of the Péristyle from outside.  There are three performances a night, they are free and start at 8PM, but you really need to get there by 6/6:30 to get a table. Anyway, we went to some performances last year and just went to the first one of the year. The group we saw is a quartet named "Minor Sing" that plays gypsy jazz.  (For those of you in the Seattle area - think Pearl Django.)

We got there around 6:15, found a table, and settled in with a couple of beers.  (There are waiters and a bar in the Péristyle.)  It’s a good thing we got there when we did because we got one of the last tables.  The place was packed with standing room only!  As you can see from this picture, there isn't much room to spare!  The venue is really a good one – a covered area with open sides, on a large square, with great bus and metro access.  The acoustics are surprisingly good, and the stage is visible from most, if not all, tables.

“Minor Swing” is one of our favorites by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli so the group’s name “Minor Sing” gave us an idea of the music they would play.  (Although, the name does make us want to groan when we see or hear it.)  The group consists of a bass, a violin, and two guitars – pretty traditional for this type of jazz.  There are three French men, all university-trained musicians, and a Bolivian who has been playing a guitar since childhood.  They are really quite good and we ended up buying a couple of their CDs! 

After the concert, we walked across the square to catch our C3 bus that drops us off a little over a block away from our apartment.  What a lovely summer evening!  The people of Lyon are very fortunate to have this concert series to enjoy.  We know we will certainly be back to the Péristyle again soon!