Authors: Degen Pener
The Swing Book (24 page)
Plus:
Austin’s popular dance band
Lucky Strikes,
which boasts a lead singer who croons like Tony Bennett;
Johnny Reno and the Lounge Kings,
who make Dallas swing and sway, starring frontman Reno, Chris Isaak’s former saxophonist; Austin swing bands
Rocket 69,
the
Jive Bombers,
the
Day Jobs,
and the
Nash Hernandez Orchestra;
the bawdy ten-piece Austin swing-meets-country group
Asylum Street Spankers;
and Dallas bands, the jump outfit
Lakewood Rats,
the Sinatra-and-Dino-style
Mr. Pink,
and red-headed rockabilly queen
Kim Lenz and the Jaguars.
J Street Jumpers:
A veteran swing and jump blues band, the J Street Jumpers came together in the early nineties and have quickly been embraced
by Washington’s strong dance community. Led by bluesy singer Marianne Previti, they travel comfortably between traditional
Count Basie swing and more devilish R&B classics.
Plus:
Washington’s traditional big band, the
Tom Cunningham Orchestra;
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s jump blues band
Big Tubba Mista;
Philadelphia’s classic band the
City Rhythm Orchestra;
and Pittsburgh’s
Dr. Zoot,
which adds a dose of Latin to their swing.
Here they are: the ten albums that swing’s top DJs and swingzine reviewers have picked as the best you can buy.
1. The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra,
Calling All Jitterbugs!
(Wayland Records): This album is a dancer’s dream, featuring fourteen midtempo tracks with a classic big band sound. The
vocals are on the sweet side, but the music is full-bodied, with hot-blowing horns and sliding piano. Except for a cover of
“On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe,” all the numbers are original compositions by Elliott but sound like the real
deal, with great arrangements and stunning vocal performances.
2. Indigo Swing,
All Aboard!
(TimeBomb Records): This collection of originals encompasses everything from piano-based ballads to boogie-woogie and jump
blues, all topped off with Johnny Boyd’s smooth, soulful vocals. The midtempo melodies make this a favorite with the dancers,
and the innocent lyrics capture a certain sweet sincerity that has been lost in modern times.
3. The Ray Gelato Giants,
The Men from Uncle
(Hepcat Records): In the tradition of Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra, Ray Gelato is a smooth crooner with huge swing appeal.
The Men from Uncle
offers up crowd-pleasing chestnuts, such as “Angelina/Zooma Zooma,” along with well-crafted originals, including the jumpin’
“Givin’ Up Givin’ Up.” The instrumental title track roars in true big band style, while songs like “Let’s Face the Music and
Dance” hark back to the dulcet tones of Tony Bennett.
4. Royal Crown Revue,
Mugzy’s Move
(Warner Records): RCR’s gutsy CD starts off with a bang, as the pounding drums and blasting brass of “Hey Pachuco!” work
the listener into a frenzy right from the start. It is followed by the pulsing rhythms of “Zip Gun Bop,” the high-octane title
track, and ten more hard-hitting numbers. This is punk rock-style swing at its punchiest.
5. Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers,
One Hour Mama
(Fat Note Records): Sounding as seductive as Lena Home and throwing in some of the power of Billie Holiday, diva Lavay Smith
delivers a varied selection of jazz standards, including “Blue Skies” and “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” Smith’s
vocals are what make this album truly remarkable, and thanks to Chris Siebert’s innovative arrangements, these classics swing
in new and unexpected ways.
6. Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums,
Come Out Swingin’!
Rumpus Records): From the opening toe tapper, “Jumptown,” straight through a dozen more good-time tracks,
Come Out Swingin’!
will keep listeners on the dance floor all night long. The songs place a strong emphasis on guitar and sax and feature delightful
call-and-response vocals by Steve Lucky and Carmen Getit that sound as good as Louis Prima and Keely Smith in their prime.
Swing and the Jazz Community
Back in the days of the original big bands, swing and jazz were one and the same. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman:
all are considered jazz greats, and all are revered among swing lovers. But the renaissance of swing in the early 1990s witnessed
a rift with the modern jazz community. In part this was because many neoswing performers, such as Brian Setzer, Scotty Morris
of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ frontman Steve Perry, came from a punk or rock ’n’ roll background
rather than a jazz upbringing. “The swing scene kind of came about without some of us in jazz knowing about it,” says Rob
Gibson, executive director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Many jazz musicians simply had a hard time taking the
new swing kids seriously.
Fortunately, in the past few years, members of both communities have made attempts to reach out to one another, learn from
each other, and help the new swing movement to grow. Bands like Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are attempting
to woo traditional jazz audiences with appearances at major jazz festivals and are seeking the advice of musicians from the
old school. Royal Crown Revue traveled to Las Vegas to meet sax great Sam Butera, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played with Tex Beneke,
and Lavay Smith has performed with R&B great Ruth Brown. On the other hand, when Chris Calloway, Cab’s daughter, was looking
to start her own swing band she called a neoswinger who is Lavay’s arranger and pianist, Chris Siebert, for advice. “I said,
‘Could you fill me in on the scene, what’s happening, and who are the acts,’” says Calloway, who recently formed the Hi-De-Ho
Orchestra, as a tribute to both her father and her aunt Blanche Calloway, who had her own band before Cab did.
7. The Eddie Reed Big Band,
Hollywood Jump
(Royal Big Mac Records): Following the adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the Eddie Reed Big Band brings new life to
traditional arrangements from the likes of Krupa, Basie, and Ellington. Reed and his crew exhibit some of the highest-quality
musicianship out there and treat these classics with great respect, playing the album’s twelve tunes with sincerity, vivacity,
and passion.
8. Jet Set Six,
Livin’ It Up
(Mutiny Records): Straddling the line between swing and lounge, the debut CD from Jet Set Six would be a welcome addition
at any party. The eleven songs, most of which were written by singer John Ceparano, reveal influences of R&B, jump blues,
rockabilly, and a hefty dose of Sinatra. With catchy lyrics and clever wordplays, this New York combo has rocketed to the
top ranks of the new swing movement.
9. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy,
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
(Coolsville Records): BBVD’s hopped-up neoswing emphasizes full-bodied horns and slick piano licks, but it’s Scotty Morris’s
whiskey-tinged voice that gives this band their edge. Their self-titled major label debut features eleven kickin’ originals,
like “You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three Tonight (Baby)” and the rollicking “Jump with My Baby,” as well as a richly done
cover of “Minnie the Moocher” that would make Cab proud.
10. Swingerhead,
She Could Be a Spy
(Colossal Music and Film): Think James Bond crossed with Wayne Newton and wearing a leopard-print dinner jacket and you’ve
got Swingerhead frontman Michael Andrew. On the band’s debut release, Andrew croons his way through a selection of campy originals,
including the loungy “Lady with the Big Cigar,” the Latin-tinged “He Just Wants to Cha Cha,” plus a couple numbers that really
swing, most notably “Pick Up the Phone.”
Indeed, today’s swingers are beginning to realize that if they love George Gee and Bill Elliott, they’ll also enjoy the Lincoln
Center Jazz Orchestra’s homages to Duke Ellington or music by such traditionalist bandleaders as Loren Schoenberg and Ken
Peplowski. If you’ve gone out to dance and fallen for Lavay Smith’s singing, you might also want to check out jazz star Diana
Krall’s
All for You,
a tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio, or diva-on-the-rise Elena Bennett’s collection of standards,
A Wrinkle in Swingtime.
And don’t forget to support the best ghost bands, which carry on the names and traditions of such deceased legends as Count
Basie, Duke Ellington, and Tommy Dorsey.
Countless other musicians, young and old, are now working together to make the new swing movement every bit as dynamic and
exciting as it was in its heyday. Swing “has emotion. It has depth. It has pain. It has joy,” says jazz singer Ann Hampton
Callaway, whose albums include the fabulous
To Ella with Love.
“It’s not just fun, it’s fun and magnificent.”
Ten More Survey Faves:
Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra,
Holiday Romance;
George Gee and His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra,
Swingin’ Live;
The Big Six,
We the Boys Will Rock You;
Jellyroll,
Hep Cats Holiday;
The Blue Saracens,
What’s a Saracen?;
Blues Jumpers,
Wheels Start Turning;
The Lost Continentals,
Moonshine and Martinis;
The Brian Setzer Orchestra,
The Dirty Boogie;
Big Time Operator,
High Altitude Swing;
Mora’s Modern Rhythmists,
Mr. Rhythmist Goes to Town;
The Jive Aces,
Planet Jive.
The Hi-Ball Lounge Sessions, Vol. 1
(Hi-Ball): San Francisco’s top bands, including Steve Lucky, ACME Swing Company, Lavay Smith, and Lee Press-on and the Nails,
all recorded live at the city’s famous Hi-Ball nightclub.
Hipsters, Zoots and Wingtips: The ’90s Swingers
(Hip-O/ Universal): With everything from Royal Crown Revue’s “Hey Pachuco!” to Diana Krall’s “Hit That Jive Jack” to Bill
Elliott’s “Bill’s Bounce,” this CD is a wonderfully varied mix.
House of Blues Swing
(House of Blues): From Saint Louis’s Vargas Swing to England’s Jive Aces, with a little bit of Western swing thrown in, courtesy
of Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys’ “Feelin’ Kinda Lucky.”
New York City Swing
(Lo-Fi Records): The best of the Big Apple, including Set ’Em Up Joe, Ron Sunshine and Full Swing, the Crescent City Maulers,
Jet Set Six, and the Camaros.
Swing This, Baby!
(Slimstyle/Beyond):
Swing Time
magazine picks the best cuts by such bands as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Bellevue Cadillac, and Swingerhead.
Cotton Club
(Geffen): Film composer John Barry successfully adapts Ellington and Calloway standards. Plus, star Gregory Hines sings one
tune, “Copper Colored Gal.”
Malcolm X
(Warner Bros.): Where else can you hear Arrested Development, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan,
John Coltrane, and Lionel Hampton all in one place?
The Mask
(Sony Music): An outlandish potpourri of contempo cuts (Vanessa Williams), neoswing (Royal Crown Revue’s “Hey Pachuco!”),
and jivin’ covers (Cab Calloway’s “Hi-De-Ho”), plus snippets of Jim Carrey dialogue.
Swing
(RCA Victor): Lisa Stansfield was born to do a swing album. This wonderful accompaniment to the 1999 indie film
Swing
boasts Springsteen sax great Clarence Clemons, a sultry “Baby I Need Your Lovin’,” and four original tunes by Stansfield.
Swing Kids
(Hollywood Records): A lively mix of traditional swing, featuring James Homer’s score and some choice Benny Goodman numbers.
Swingers
(Hollywood Records): The soundtrack that launched Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is also a great tribute to such lounge kings as Dean
Martin and Bobby Darin.
