BY JONISE ORIE
Le Chat Lunatique. Four musicians whose main goal is to make people dance. They don’t care if you’re 14 (except at Gulp!, where
you must be 21 to enter) or 82; if you’re simply jiving in your seat or tossing your dance partner in the air. They call themselves “filthy,
mangy jazz” but there are a slew of ingredients in their delicious and nostalgic sound — mainly ’30s and ’40s bebop, Latin rhythms,
sexy violin, gypsy swing and even a little reggae.
A typical show may entice belly dancers and shuffling swing dancers to the floor. You might see dread-headed hippies take to the
floor with a style of movement the band has coined “noodle dancing,” or grandparents tapping their feet.
A handsome band who perform sharply dressed, they inspire many of their fans to arrive dressed just as handsomely. Well-groomed
mustaches accompany their snazzy appearance perfectly, though drummer Fernando Garavito, is currently rebelling against the
mustache.
The foursome has been playing together for almost a year, which makes them a young band by any standards. However, their
collectively vast musical experience and diligence catapulted them into the hearts and day-planners of “Albuquerqueños,” and
ensures that their shows are well-attended. Violinist Muni Kulasinghe played in, among others, a Jazz Manousch (French gypsy jazz)
group for a year while living in France, while guitarist John Sandlin played in various bands in Albuquerque for more than six years.
The band’s bassist, Jared Putnam has made a living playing standup bass for years, including a six-year stint with the highly
successful Syd Masters and the Swing Riders. Garavito has his jazz drumming chops, but also dabbled in rock when he lived in Maine.
All members bring their own influences to the table: be it Sandlin and Kulasinghe’s love for French gypsy swing band Hot Club,
Garavito’s Latin rhythm inflections or Putnam’s sinister manner of playing Western Swing.
While many local bands of other genres usually play sets of 45 minutes to an hour, Le Chat Lunatique regularly play two to three sets
with breaks in between. “We are just getting warmed up after the first set,” says Kulasinghe. They play originals as well as popular
jazz, Western Swing and gypsy swing standards. Though they are dipping into genres of music that are often presumed to be well-
behaved and proper, Le Chat Lunatique play their brand of jazz and swing with unruly flair.
Sandlin says it’s interesting to see who responds to their music. Someone in their seventies may perk up because the band is playing
a song from their youth, while, he says, “The young people are stoked because they haven’t heard it before.”
Invitations for the band to play private parties are on the rise and they find it refreshing to play to new ears that perhaps wouldn’t
make it to their bar shows. The band plans to be busy in the next few months. On Aug. 18, they will celebrate the release of their live
album, Puss in Bootleg with a performance at the District and they also have an album of originals due to be released this fall. After
these accomplishments, they plan to tour the Southwest like true gypsies (in between giving music lessons and school of course) but
promise not to forget about us here in Albuquerque.
LOCAL IQ, AUG. 10 - AUG. 23, 2006
