Moondance

Van Morrison's "Moondance" is essentially a jazz standard wearing rock-and-roll clothing — a swung shuffle dressed up with romance and a saxophone hook that everybody knows by heart. On March 21, 2026, at Jaeb Theater of Straz Center in Tampa, Florida, soloist Stewart Stein of the Gay Men's Chorus of Tampa Bay brought that hybrid character to life as part of Out On the Dance Floor.

Stein's lead was the centerpiece of the performance, and he treated the song with the loose, swung phrasing the music demands. His tone had a relaxed jazz-club quality — the kind of voice that feels at home over brushed drums and a walking bass line — and he played with the lyric's rhythmic emphasis throughout. The signature "marvelous night for a moondance" hook sat exactly in the pocket, sometimes ahead of the beat, sometimes leaning back, never square.

Behind him, drummer Joanna Bodo's contributions added the swing the song needs, while Pozenatto's piano comped with a tasteful, jazz-inflected touch.

The Jaeb Theater's cabaret-style intimacy was particularly well suited to this number. The acoustics let the soloist stay conversational without losing presence, and the swing rhythm carried easily through the room, prompting visible swaying and the occasional finger snap from the audience.

Within Out On the Dance Floor, "Moondance" served as a stylistic palate cleanser — a reminder that the dance floor includes slower, smokier corners as well as the disco lights, and that the right moonlight has always made for the best music.