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Swing is the elusive mystery in American music. People talk about the “Swing Era” or “swing music”—but what do they mean? Do they even know?
The truth is, “swing” is not an era or style; rather, it is a moment of creation and the fulcrum of jazz rhythm. It is the eye of the hurricane—that place in between the beats, where we are now, here (nowhere). In counting a tempo, a jazz band leader will likely snap his fingers and say, “Right here.” Time and space come together. When a band finds a good swing groove, I like to say, “They’re not going anywhere, because they’re already there.” . |
In this presentation, we will find that swing rhythm—usually associated with the “Big Band Era”-- can be found in all styles. It can be found in the physical actions of plantation work song and religious celebration, and in the blues. It shows up in ragtime, which composer Scott Joplin directed pianists to “Play slowly until you catch the swing.” It comes out in brass band march time, when the drummer pushes the New Orleans “big four” beat and kicks the music down the street. And it shows up almost everywhere there is dance. If it makes you move, it likely swings. 
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Not only that—but swing rhythm is on the move again today, in dance halls worldwide. Young people--and old!--are “swinging out” to hot new bands, showing up in swarms. They can’t get enough. The thinking is that in these divided times, the music brings people together. Let Louis Armstrong, Joe “King” Oliver, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, Huey “Piano” Smith and others reveal to you that there was more than meets the ear when Duke Ellington wrote “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.” 
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♬ LISTEN & WATCH!: Count Basie
One O'Clock Jump--1937
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HHE39sXiiQ
William "Count" Basie cut his big-band teeth in Kansas City playing with Benny Moten's "stomp" band. (Moten, in turn, had gotten his initial sound from the New Orleanians, particularly Joe "King" Oliver.) After Moten passed, Basie put together his own band using several Moten players--including the bassist Walter Page, the drummer Jo Jones, and the guitarist Freddie Green--who together created a signature pulse that became a backbone of American swing rhythm.
One O'Clock Jump--1937
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HHE39sXiiQ
William "Count" Basie cut his big-band teeth in Kansas City playing with Benny Moten's "stomp" band. (Moten, in turn, had gotten his initial sound from the New Orleanians, particularly Joe "King" Oliver.) After Moten passed, Basie put together his own band using several Moten players--including the bassist Walter Page, the drummer Jo Jones, and the guitarist Freddie Green--who together created a signature pulse that became a backbone of American swing rhythm.