Miles Bengtson, Lorne Fultonberg
Click on each song to hear it! Click here for the full Spotify playlist.
There are many ways to continue enjoying and improving your dancing during this season of social distancing. To help all of us enjoy and appreciate swing music at a deeper level, we have put together a fun listening guide through the history of swing music. Following are some songs that marked milestones in the development of swing, illustrate fascinating history, and are just great songs! We hope to join you at some wild post-Coronavirus dance parties very soon. Until then, enjoy listening and dancing through the history of swing!
1. Livery Stable Blues by Original Dixieland Jass Band, 1917
Livery Stable Blues by the Original Dixieland Jass Band (later changed to Jazz instead of Jass) is considered to be the first ever jazz recording, responsible for introducing the word to many Americans. This band was known for its liveliness, playfulness, and irreverence. Listen for the barnyard sounds throughout the song in which the clarinet, cornet, and trombone are used to imitate a rooster, horse, and donkey. Now is a great time to get up and practice some pecking!
The Civil War brought an influx of marching band instruments to the American South, along with musicians who could play them. In the port city of New Orleans, music played on classical Western instruments mingled with musical ideas from the African diaspora such as improvisation, call-and-response, and complex rhythms. Ragtime pianists like Scott Joplin explored ideas of syncopation while bandleader W.C. Handy traveled around the South, collecting local musical ideas and formalizing what we now know as the Blues. It is from this melting pot of musical ideas in New Orleans that jazz was born. A young Louis Armstrong wandered the streets of New Orleans and heard this new type of music…
2. Potato Head Blues by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven, 1927
From New Orleans, jazz traveled along the trade routes up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to Midwestern cities like Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago. By the mid-1920’s, Louis Armstrong had established himself as one of the best trumpet players around. In the second half of Potato Head Blues, Armstrong’s improvisational solo prowess is on full display. Before Armstrong, solo improvisation was often limited to playing variations on a song melody. Armstrong, however, played with relaxed phrasing and fresh melodic ideas. His solos are dramatic, building up to a climax, like he is telling a story. This new type of playing gave musicians endless new opportunities for expression. Jazz grew into an artist’s form with emphasis on soloists.
Listen for Armstrong’s stop-time solo which begins at 1:50 in this recording (stop-time is when the rest of the band only plays one note at the beginning of each count of 8). His solo and the final, hot “ride-out” (when the rest of the band joins it) have been described as one of the greatest musical achievements of the twentieth century.
3. Moten Swing by Bennie Moten and His Kansas City Orchestra, 1932
This version of Moten Swing, which features Count Basie on the piano, represents an important shift in the development of swing music and helped define the Kansas City style of jazz. Unlike earlier jazz recordings, which often sound rhythmically stiff and have multiple instruments playing different melodies at the same time, Moten Swing helped define a freer, looser, more orchestrated form of jazz. Instead of soloists or the entire band playing at once, notice how different groups of instruments alternate playing bits of the melody. Moten Swing became a jazz standard which helped drive swing toward the form with which we are most familiar. For comparison, listen to Benny Goodman’s 1938 recording, Count Basie’s 1940 recording, and Count Basie’s 1958 re-recording (in which Basie turns the style all the way up!). Ironically, the main melody we recognize as Moten Swing is not played until 2:36 in the original recording.
Bennie Moten would likely be a more well-known name except that his career was cut short by an early death in 1935. Count Basie took over the band and went on to become one of the greatest pianists and bandleaders of the swing era.
4. Christopher Columbus by Benny Goodman, arranged by Fletcher Henderson, 1936
By the mid-1930’s, the Swing Era was at its height and the focus of the jazz industry had shifted to New York City. Though Benny Goodman is known as the King of Swing, his success relied upon the skill of his arranger, Fletcher Henderson, who could be described as the Architect of Swing. As a bandleader, Henderson worked with saxophonist/arranger Don Redman to help craft the classic big band sound, which features a rhythm section (piano, guitar, drums, and bass) and then trumpets, trombones, and reeds playing in groups. Compare the sound of Christopher Columbus, in which different parts of the orchestra play in call-and-response riffs, to the earlier jazz recordings which feature more collective improvisations.
Henderson was able to strike the right balance between New Orleans style hot playing and more sophisticated New York dance band fare; giving musicians opportunities for artistic development while also satisfying the need to sell records. The Henderson orchestra became known for its polished appearance and discipline; Henderson required his band members be able to read sheet music so that they could play tight, orchestrated arrangements. His band included an array of superstar musicians including, at various times, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Roy Eldridge. What genius Henderson possessed in band leading he unfortunately lacked in business acumen. The band fell apart and Henderson found work as an arranger for Benny Goodman.
On January 16, 1938, Benny Goodman’s band performed at Carnegie Hall. This is considered a landmark moment in jazz history: The style that originated on the streets of New Orleans was now accepted as an art form in one of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. Listen closely to Goodman’s climactic piece from the concert: Sing, Sing, Sing, featuring legends like Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, and several guests from the Count Basie band, including Basie himself. At 1:26 in the live recording, you can hear the same tune from Christopher Columbus played faster and in a minor key.
Later that same night, the Savoy Ballroom hosted a riotous swing band battle between Chick Webb and Count Basie, featuring Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday and a special guest appearance from Duke Ellington. For good reason, January 16, 1938 is considered one of the greatest nights in swing history!
5. A-Tisket, A-Tasket by Ella Fitzgerald with the Chick Webb Orchestra, 1938
A-Tisket, A-Tasket holds a significant place in swing history as the breakout recording of Ella Fitzgerald, which began her rise to become the “First Lady of Song.” Ella herself proposed the idea for A-Tisket, A-Tasket and co-wrote the song based on a nursery rhyme. During the 1938 recording session, Decca Records executives did not think the song was worth recording, but Chick Webb stood up for Ella. The song was recorded and went on to reach number one on the charts, introducing Ella’s pure, playful vocals to the world. Ella became a regular vocalist with the Chick Webb Orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom and was also known as a good dancer. Just a year after the recording, Chick Webb passed away and 22-year-old Ella took over leadership of the band.
Ella’s technically perfect voice (in terms of tonal quality, timing, diction) combined with her playful improvisational ability made her of the greatest singers of all time. Some of her later recordings illustrate her ability to improvise and make her voice sound like any band instrument or other singer. How High the Moon, recorded live in Berlin in 1960, displays her scatting prowess as well as her ability to quote ideas from other songs, which she does over a dozen times in this piece. In the same concert, she decided to sing Mack the Knife, becoming the first female vocalist to do so. Part way through the song, Ella forgets the lyrics, so improvises her way through the rest, giving us a treasure of jazz history. Similarly, in her live recording of Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home, Fitzgerald beautifully imitates other singers who had covered the song.
6. Boulder Buff by Glenn Miller, 1941
Glenn Miller’s recording of Boulder Buff is a favorite of ours at Boulder Swing Dance! Miller attended University of Colorado Boulder in 1923 before dropping out to pursue a full-time career in music. While on campus, Glenn met his future wife Helen Burger. Miller continually experimented with different combinations of instruments until he found the right one to give his band a unique sound: a clarinet and tenor sax playing melody supported by other saxophones playing harmony. With this combination, Miller and his band achieved tremendous success in the late 1930’s, quickly becoming the most popular band in the country. 1941’s Chattanooga Choo-Choo became the first gold record, selling over 1 million copies. Miller’s success defined a rare time in music history when jazz music was pop music. At the height of his popularity, Glenn Miller joined the U.S. Armed Forces to boost morale performing for troops overseas. Tragically, Miller’s career was cut short when his plane mysteriously disappeared over the English Channel in 1944.
7. Flying Home by Lionel Hampton, 1942
Flying Home was originally recorded in 1939 by the Benny Goodman Sextet, featuring a guitar solo by Charlie Christian (ironically, when Charlie Christian played the sextet was actually a septet). Guitar solos are somewhat rare in swing music. Magnetic pickups (which allow for amplification) were introduced in the mid-1930’s and Charlie Christian was one of the first guitarists to play with amplification. Without pickups, the guitar was not loud enough to compete for feature status with the louder brass instruments and so was relegated to playing rhythm. Benny Goodman Sextet recordings from this era are significant because of their role in promoting the guitar from background to feature instrument. Note the unusual and interesting combination of clarinet, vibraphone, and guitar used here.
Lionel Hampton, vibraphonist in the Goodman Sextet, went on to form his own band which recorded Flying Home in 1942, featuring a solo by 19-year-old tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. Hampton turned up the heat on the tune, playing it faster and livelier. Jacquet’s long solo (which starts at 0:44) went down in history as one of the greatest sax solos. His honking and wailing style is considered the first R&B sax solo and defined a new type of playing that inspired many saxophonists to come.
8. Sandu by Clifford Brown and Max Roach, 1955
The swing era was winding down in the early 1940’s. In 1942, the musician’s union went on strike against major record labels over royalty disagreements. As a result, the swing recording industry came to a halt and did not resume until 1944. In 1944, however, the US government implemented a 30% tax on any nightclubs where dancing took place. This forced a trend away from large dance bands to smaller, music-focused groups. Focus also shifted away from the bands themselves and toward the singers.
Forward-thinking musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie grew bored with having to play the reasonable tempos and steady beats dancers needed. These artists experimented with faster tempos, complex chord progressions, and unconventional phrasing, choosing to focus on artistic ideas rather than on selling records or entertaining dancers. This movement developed into a new style of jazz known as bebop. Though bebop is primarily listening music rather than dancing music, some songs recorded in the bebop era are quite nice for swing dancing. Sandu by Clifford Brown and Max Roach is a good example, though the sound is clearly different from the polished big band arrangements of the swing era. Listen to some other songs on the rest of the album, “A Study in Brown,” and try to dance to them - you will find it is quite challenging!
9. Night Train by Oscar Peterson, 1963
Though the swing era officially ended in the mid-1940’s, numerous swing era artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, continued producing and touring for decades. Pianist Oscar Peterson’s career did not begin until the end of the swing era, but he recorded numerous hits that are swing dance standards today. Peterson’s collaborations with Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Lester Young, and Buddy Rich are some of my all-time favorite albums (both for listening and dancing). Peterson’s trio also re-recorded numerous swing era classics, albeit in a more modern, jazzier style. Many Count Basie swing dance classics were recorded in the 1950’s and 60’s: April In Paris (1956), The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957), and Straight Ahead (1968). Be sure to listen to Basie’s 1958 recording of Moten Swing from the Chairman of the Board album and compare to Bennie Moten’s 1932 version, which also features Count Basie at piano!
References:
Livery Stable Blues:
Schuller, Gunther. Vol 2: The Swing Era: the Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. Oxford University Press, 1989.
Kirchner, Bill. The Oxford Companion to Jazz. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Hasse, John Edward. “The First Jazz Recording Was Made by a Group of White Guys?” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 24 Feb. 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/was-first-jazz-recording-made-group-white-guys-180962246/.
Potato Head Blues:
Lewis, Steven. “Louis Armstrong: The First Great Jazz Soloist.” Smithsonian Music, 22 Oct. 2018, https://music.si.edu/story/louis-armstrong.
“6 Surprisingly Modern Solo Techniques from Louis Armstrong.” Jazz Advice, 9 Oct. 2019, www.jazzadvice.com/six-jazz-improvisation-secrets-from-louis-armstrong/.
“Essential Solos: 40 Improvisations You Need to Know.” JazzTimes, 25 Apr. 2019, https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/40-essential-solos.
Christopher Columbus:
“Fletcher Henderson.” Jazz Musicians, All About Jazz, 2013, https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/fletcherhenderson#about
“Fletcher Henderson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Dec. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fletcher-Henderson.
“Fletcher Henderson: 'Architect of Swing'.” NPR, 19 Dec. 2007, https://www.npr.org/2007/12/19/17370123/fletcher-henderson-architect-of-swing.
Vail, Ken. Count Basie: Swingin' the Blues, 1936-1950. Scarecrow Press, 2003.
A-Tisket, A-Tasket:
“Biography.” Ella Fitzgerald, 7 Apr. 2017, https://www.ellafitzgerald.com/about/biography.
Waldner, Alyssa. “A-Tisket, a-Tasket, a Hit Song in Her Basket: Ella's Rise to Fame.” National Museum of American History, 31 May 2019, https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/tisket-tasket-hit-song-her-basket-ellas-rise-fame.
“Essential Solos: 40 Improvisations You Need to Know.” JazzTimes, 25 Apr. 2019, https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/40-essential-solos/.
Boulder Buff:
“Glenn Miller.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 26 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Glenn-Miller.
Flying Home:
“Illinois Jacquet: King Of The Screeching Tenor.” NPR, 5 Nov. 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/11/05/96579674/illinois-jacquet-king-of-the-screeching-tenor.
Rickert, David. “Lionel Hampton: ‘Flying Home’ Article.” All About Jazz, 22 Aug. 2005, https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lionel-hampton-flying-home-lionel-hampton-by-david-rickert.php.
Sandu:
Duddleston, Meridee. “Did the Cabaret Tax Kill Big Bands?” WRTI, 2015, https://www.wrti.org/post/did-cabaret-tax-kill-big-bands.
Jarenwattananon, Patrick. How Taxes And Moving Changed The Sound Of Jazz. NPR, 16 Apr. 2013, https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2013/04/16/177486309/how-taxes-and-moving-changed-the-sound-of-jazz.
