Rody Balboa

rody balboa’s swingui bandi


It is a great pleasure to present you an amazing new jazz quartet comprised of top professionals from the Swiss music scene. Our aim is to sound different from all other Lindy hop bands you’ve heard, and combine good music with humor on stage.

First of all, the leader/multi-reed wiz Rodrigo has played jazz since the beginning of his career and throughout his life. But as a Brazilian musician he focused solely on his rich native music while also creating his widely acclaimed original Brazilian Jazz. 

However since Rodrigo started to dance Lindy hop a year ago, he fell in love with this dance and music. Lately he has been studying the songs from the swing era to see what Lindy hop dancers want to dance to.

Furthermore as in Brazil there are many swing songs, Rodrigo wants to bring this dance and sound closer to the Brazilian people. So you might hear some famous melodies such as “All Of Me“ sung in Portuguese (which also was a big hit in Brazil entitled “Disse Alguém“) and many other surprises.

These pros may break into a walking bassline or other styles for a few bars, wich gives a fresh take on this older genre. They will surprise you by inserting some funk, cha cha cha or maybe a  jazz waltz into the groove.

Almost everything is danceable, so you’re guaranteed to enjoy the music from the very first note. So come down to check out this new Swing Band of Switzerland!

Rody Balboa – Saxophon, Flute, Voice & Arrangements

Yves Martinek – Piano

Philipp Ackermann – Bass

Francesco Gasparini – Drums

In case you were wondering about the band’s name:
Rodrigo’s (Rody’s) grandfather name was Roque and Rodrigo himself was a big fan of Rocky Balboa. Thus we have two homages in one name. Furthermore, Rodrigo loves the dance style, Balboa. Soon we will also play some Balboa songs. Finally: Swingui Bandi would be how a Brazilian would pronounce “swing band“.