Bratislava Hot Serenaders - Tatransky Expres

The Bratislava Hot Serenaders orchestra belongs among the few strictly-oriented music bands in Slovakia. Its eighteen enthusiastic players have met for thirteen seasons without an interruption and its style remains unchanged. What glue keeps them together during our present turbulent economic period? The glue is their love of traditional music. They devote all their free time to "Hot Jazz" or "Sweet and Dance Music" which arrived in Europe at the end of the Twenties from America. In its homeland, the music has already been recorded, so the orchestra´s boys search for old shellac gramophone records, listen to them till early morning and note-by-note reconstruct the old sweet melodies and imitate their arrangements. After hours of practicing, they dress themselves into traditional costumes, put the brilliantine on their hair and start playing their vintage instruments and singing into a lone microphone.
Since 1992 they continue entertaining their unbelievably loyal and constantly growing audience. Their mutual friendship and love of entertainment results in a sort of obsession. They often visit each other and play for themselves at informal occasions. Even then they function at full throttle, playing with the drive and spirit so important to this style of music. The Serenaders have yet another love. It is also music - Slovak music. It was played and recorded in Bratislava and Prague in Thirties and Forties and is focused around one name extremely popular in thatperiod: František Krištof Veselý. The doyen of Slovak pop-singers made famous many melodies which are now adopted by BHS. The Bratislava Hot Serenaders are well-established abroad as well. In 1994 the orchestra won the Sidney d´Or Prix at the Grand Festival of Music of 20´s and 30´s in Saint Raphael, France. They regularly appear in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and other countries. They have recorded four CDs: "Prvé Rendez-Vous (The First Rendez-Vous)" (1997), "Cotton Club Stomp" (2003), "Ja som optimista (I´m An Optimist)" (2001) and "Celý svet sa mračí (The Entire World Is Cloudy)" (2002). Songs on the last two CDs are performed by Milan Lasica, one of the most popular Slovak actors and singers. Both CDs became bestsellers - the first one winning a platinum CD, the second winning a gold CD. Recently, selected songs from both CDs have been recorded for the first Slovak music DVD entitled "Milan Lasica & The Bratislava Hot Serenaders". Their successful cooperation also led to a new musical-styled performance in the Štúdio L&S theatre. In the show "Ja som optimista", the songs and melodies are accompanied by stories and anecdotes from old Bratislava.