8½ Souvenirs is an American

swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...

band that is currently active, since 1993. The band was signed to

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

and had two albums on that label, as well as two under indie labels in Austin, Texas. 8½ Souvenirs is named after the film ''

8½ ''8½'' ( ) is a 1963 Italian avant-garde arthouse comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on famous Italian film director Guido Anselmi ( Marcello Mastroianni) who suffers from writer ...

'', directed by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

, and the song "Souvenirs" by gypsy jazz guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

The band appeared on ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

'' in April 1998.

Personnel

The band lineup evolved over the years. During different periods, the personnel included: *

Olivier Giraud Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popula ...

(guitar, vocals) The founder and key member of the Souvenirs. Now a member of the band Continental Graffiti. * Tony Balbineau (vocals, rhythm guitar) * Todd Wulfmeyer (bass) * Kathy Kiser (vocals) * Glover Gill (piano) * Adam Berlin (drums) * Juliana Sheffield (vocals) * Kevin Smith (bass) * Justin Sherburn (piano) * Rob Kidd (drums) * Chrysta Bell (vocals)

Discography

* ''Happy Feet'' (

, 1995) * * * ''Twisted Desire'' (

, 1999) * ''Live Memories'' (Giraudo, 2000) *

References

External links

Chrysta Bell websiteTodd Wulfmeyer's myspace
Musical groups from Austin, Texas Swing revival ensembles 1993 establishments in Texas Jazz ensembles from Texas {{US-jazz-band-stub