Lively Music for a Great Gatsby Party

by Robbie Schlosser

Magnolia Jazz Band Lively Music for a Great Gatsby Party

Great Gatsby Party  — it conjures up the sights and sounds of the Roaring 20s, the Jazz Age, Flappers, Art Deco, Speakeasies, and Vintage everything!

Magnolia Jazz Band Lively Music for a Great Gatsby Party

Magnolia Jazz Band, Atherton Cocktail Party, 2012

For the last 15 or so years, we’ve been entertaining at one especially wonderful Great Gatsby Party in Atherton, CA, and yesterday we “jazzed up” this year’s party.  Thank you to Kyle Chesser, of Hands On Photography, for the beautiful photo.  If you like this picture, Magnolia Jazz Band Lively Music for a Great Gatsby Party

This one was a pretty casual affair, as these events tend to go.  No Charleston contests, 1920s fashion shows, or gangster raids.  Instead, a strictly low-key cocktail party, hosted by a major venture capital firm that invited about 80 of the busiest “movers and shakers” in Silicon Valley to socialize with their colleagues.

Everyone enjoyed a wonderful evening in a gorgeous prize-winning garden.  Wine, appetizers, a spectacular dinner, and our music kept spirits high and conversations flowing.

At a Great Gatsby Party we customarily confine our music to hits of the 1920s (Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and all the rest).  Yesterday’s party was more casual than most, and we included several bossa novas, tangos, and waltzes.  We even played a few requested Beatles tunes.

This Great Gatsby party has always been a major auction prize at the annual Vintage Affaire, a spectacular event benefiting the Vista Center (formerly the Peninsula Center for the Blind).

All the ladies serving the guests at their party volunteer their time and energy, and you could tell they enjoyed the party just as much as their guests did.  Everyone enjoyed our music, so we had a wonderful time, as well.

How about YOU? Have you ever planned a Great Gatsby Party?

Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Please comment and continue this conversation. I’ll reply to you, and so will others who share your interest. You’ll make new connections.

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The Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood. In the meantime, please join our Magnolia Jazz Band fans on Facebook to receive daily tips for planning wedding and party music and to receive reminders for our public events.

Magnolia Jazz Band Lively Music for a Great Gatsby Party

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  • Coachsue

    How much fun would this be? Especially since Leonardo Di Caprio is appearing in a new version of the movie this year.

    Sue Bock
    Http://couragetoadventurecoaching.wordpress.com

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Hi Sue, Thanks — glad you liked this post.  Actually we’ve been entertaining at Great Gatsby parties long before this year’s movie comes out.  I’ll be looking to see how they handle music at THEIR parties.
      -Robbie

  • http://julieannecasefromtheheart.com Julieanne Case

    It sounds like a wonderful evening. I would have liked the flapper contests though too.  Thanks for sharing this themed event.

    Julieanne CaseAlways from the heart!Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| Reconnective Art |http://thereconnectivehighway.com

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Hi Julieanne, Thanks — glad you liked this post. Flapper contest, eh?  One of these days…
      Meanwhile, tell me about the next little Gatsby party you plan.
      -Robbie

  • http://www.maureenabivinsphd.com/ Maureena Bivins, PhD

    I love all the old standards.  I guess a lot of interest in Gatsby will be stirred up  with the coming release of the movie.  Your band is so classy!

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Hi Maureena, Thanks — glad you liked this post.  I’m with you 100% about the old standards.  They’re exquisite and timeless, and there’s a good reason they’re called “standards”.  
      I’m looking forward to 1) seeing the movie later this year, and 2) meeting you at a party one of these days.  What’s your favorite song?
      -Robbie

  • Rowena

    Dang, Boy, You run a tight marketing ship!  My hat’s off to ya’!  Just what were the ladies ‘serving’?  Hummmm?  No men ‘serving’?  what a shame.

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Hi Rowena, Thanks — glad you liked this post. And thanks for liking what I do.  Back atcha!  
      Well, all the servers were volunteers.  A few men were serving cocktails and trays of sushi, but most of the servers, and all the cooks, were women.  Before the dinner buffet was displayed, they served cocktails and fancy hors d’oeuvres.  
      I bet you would have loved it!  What do YOU like to serve at your parties?
      -Robbie

  • http://www.cherylmcdonald-art.com/ Cheryl McDonald

    Love the Great Gatsby era. Beautfiul, graceful and care free. What a fun party this would have been. How lucky that you get to be part of it and make it happen!

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Hi Cheryl,  Thanks — glad you like this post.  I’m with you about admiring the era.  I like to tell people I make a living going to parties like this.  Well, that’s sorta true, and it’s wonderful, but it doesn’t just happen by itself, you know.  I suppose being a professional artist might be similar, right?

  • JudyStoneGoldman

    I loved the book The Great Gatsby, so I find the idea of a Great Gatsby party quite enticing. It’s very nice that that was part of a charitable event – makes it all the more fun. Probably not something I’ll ever plan, but maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get to join one one day.

    • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

      Thanks, Judy.  Glad you like this post, and I hope you’ll have an opportunity to enjoy a Great Gatsby party one of these days.  Whether attending as a guest or as the hostess, let your imagination run wild, and get into the swing of things there.  I find THAT’S the secret for making a party memorable.  

  • http://MagnoliaJazz.com/blog Robbie Schlosser

    Thanks, Judy.  Glad you like this post.  Yes, it was fun for everyone there, partly because some of us dressed to suit the party’s theme.  We always do, to help create the perfect atmosphere for celebrating!  Even though in this case the guests dressed casual, that special touch helped set the festive mood.  At other occasions, we might wear jacket & tie, or Hawaiian shirts, or lively red vests, …

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