Pretty Boy Freud, Jacksonville's hottest band, has been creating the swing experience for their audiences for over 15 years. The band's foundation is the Hot Club Jazz style of music (the acoustic swing or Gypsy Jazz created by Django Reinhardt in the 30's). To this hot style of music, they add a twist of jump, jazz, blues, and contemporary swing, plus a dash of audience participation and a touch of humor.
What makes Pretty Boy Freud unique is their full range of string instruments, including violin, acoustic guitar, upright bass, and electric guitar. Add to this a horn player, a drummer, and female & male vocalists, and you get a recipe for a night of auditory & swing-dancing excitement! Numbers range from uptempo Hot Club standards (such as Sweet Georgia Brown, Honeysuckle Rose, & Darktown Strutters Ball), to the famous Ella & Louis duets, to a sultry & bluesy version of Fever, to jump-blues classics (such as Caledonia), to the band's own original music.
Pretty Boy Freud is all about inspiring and interacting with the audience. They do whatever it takes to get people involved, whether it be jumping onto the floor themselves to lead a dance, or putting audience members on stage to perform with the band. Their interaction with the audience infuses their music with the vitality of the evening, creating an exciting and memorable experience for all.
Pretty Boy Freud hails from Jacksonville, where they're regarded by many as not just the best swing band, but the best band, period. A 7-time winner of Folio Magazine's Best Band in N.E. Florida award, Pretty Boy Freud was also voted the Best Jazz Band and the Best Blues Band on two separate occasions by Jacksonville Magazine. Bandleader, Ed Cotton, was awarded Best Entertainer by Folio Magazine.
The band has played from Seattle to Key Largo, including the 2002 Seattle Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and other festivals across Florida. They've appeared at Crossroads in Savannah, Atlantic Dance & Pleasure Island in Orlando, Swing Time at Centro Asturiano in Ybor City, Skipper's Smokehouse & Cafe Creole in Tampa, and other venues too numerous to mention. Each year, bandmembers Ed Cotton (acoustic guitar & vocals) and Rebecca Zapen (violin & vocals) make the annual pilgrimage to the Django Reinhardt Festival in France. The band has performed in concert with the likes of Harry Connick Jr and Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys. Pretty Boy Freud's most recent CD is entitled Meet Me in New Orleans.