If postmodernism is an aesthetic style marked by appropriation, pastiche, surface shine and fragmentation, then one can generally hear only the pleasant part of postmodernism in Postmodern Jukebox.
The group, which is the project of arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee, takes familiar hits — by grungesters, dance-popsters, rappers, indie rockers and more — turning them into retro vocal workouts with tinges of Broadway, doo-wop, ragtime, Dixieland, gutbucket, Motown, rhumba, girl-group grit and smoky lounge-jazz.
Jazz has always been about taking the popular song book and goosing the tunes with juicy harmonies and zippy phrasing, so, in a way, PJB is staying true to the tradition. Jazz can withstand a little injection of the White Stripes, Britney Spears, Drake, Twenty One Pilots, Soundgarden, Justin Bieber and Sia, or vice versa. There’s lots of belting, swinging and brassy finger-snapping verve. If you’re down with karaoke culture, mash-up mania, swing revivalism, a cappella fever, singing-show style and ballroom camp, put on a dazzlingly zany outfit and bust out your anachronistic moves!
See Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox at the Bushnell’s William H. Mortensen Hall, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, Saturday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. $39.50 to $205. 860-987-5900, thebushnell.org.
