Manager, Arsis Productions

WHAT IS SWING MUSIC?

I have had so many questions about the new "swing craze" that I couldn't help but do an article about it. However, this time I thought I would get a serious swing expert in on this article. I asked John Donahue to contribute to this article to help us all gain a clearer understanding of just what swing music really is and, what it is not. John is considered, by many authorities, to be one of the absolute best swing drummers in the southeast. I hope you find this information helpful as you carefully consider what types of music you want at your reception.

Swing, Swing Music, New Swing, Gen-X Swing...what is it? Where did it come from? Why is it here? Is it safe? Well...there has been an incredible growth in "Swing Style" music in the last year, and it looks like it's going to keep growing and growing. But where did it come from? That's simple. It came from the 30's and 40's. (That's 1930's and 1940's for those of you in Rio Linda) Modern day swing is a direct descendant from the Big Band Era. The era that gave us Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Frank Sinatra. Swing is basically a larger, and much more rigid, form of Jazz. Swing is defined by a large brass and saxophone (or woodwind) section, accented by a rhythm section of piano, drums, and usually, upright bass. Back in they hey-day of the Swing Era, big bands toured the country filling dance halls with songs like "In the Mood", "Chattanooga Choo-Choo", and "Moonlight Serenade". Swing vocalists, or crooners, like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby filled the radio airwaves with their songs of love and devotion. Juke joints, jumpin' and jivin', and cuttin' a rug, were all the rage during this great musical era. But what does all this have to do with the swing music of today?

It's like they always say....what goes around comes around.

With names like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra, these bands, and bands like them, are turning a whole new generation of fans onto one of the greatest artforms ever. With songs like "Zoot Suit Riot", "Jump, Jive, an' Wail", and "The Rascal King", fans from 10 to 110 are buying albums of new and old swing bands alike. And the movies of today are cashing in on the new/old trend as well. "The Way You Look Tonight", made famous by the movie "My Best Friends Wedding", and featuring Tony Bennet, who himself has had a resurgence in his own popularity, is quickly becoming one of the most requested songs in the wedding reception market. The new generation of swing bands are not only revamping and re-recording hits of the past, but they are writing and recording brand new swing tunes for their fan's enjoyment.

The reason I'm writing this is to help people have a clearer understanding of Swing and what that word means to a working musician. Hopefully, this will help people pick the right kind of band for their event. If someone says they would like to hear some swing, I would assume that they are wanting to hear some Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, or maybe some Nat King Cole. But sometimes what they're really looking for is some Brian Setzer or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's. So what we have here is a communication problem. What we need to do is get the general public in on the lingo that the musicians understand. When you know how to ask the right questions, you're in a better position to get what you want.

So here's a simple suggestion: If you're interested in hearing some swing-type of music...PLEASE...know some names of some artists and/or some of the particular songs that you'd like to hear!

The band I'm currently performing with, Mixed Company, is in high demand and frequently gets requests to play swing music. So we play about 30 to 45 minutes of swing and standards and we think that we've done our job. But the client comes up to us and says, "I wanted you guys to play some Swing." We say that we have and they say that we didn't play any Swing. It seems that our definition of Swing and their definition of Swing are two different definitions. Mixed Company is a variety band. When people hire us, they get a band that plays every song as close to the original as possible. When we cover a Swing tune, it's as close as we can get without having a big horn section. We have some great horn sounds coming from keyboards, and we can throw in a live sax to spice it up a bit. But we aren't instrumentally equipped to handle a whole night of Swing music. We try to play a little bit of everything so that nobody goes away unhappy. But when we've played a set or two of swing and the client thinks that we haven't....that's a problem.

If someone wants to hear 4-hours of Swing music and they hire a band that instrumentally consists of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, there is NO WAY the band will be able to believably pull off playing swing music and satisfying the client for 4-hours. Here's the problem...Most major swing bands, even today, consist of at least 2 trumpets,1 or 2 trombones, 2 or 3 saxophones, and an upright bass, drums, maybe guitar, and a piano. So when someone books a 5 to 7-piece band like Mixed Company, that plays a wide variety of music attempting to please everyone, including at least a set of Swing and Standards, they aren't getting a band that is equipped to handle a long night of swing and only swing.

Also, if you want to hire an authentic swing band, be ready to take out a loan... In Atlanta, the cheapest "real" swing band I know of STARTS at $3,500. And that's just swing and only swing. No pop, no rock, and no disco.

The other problem with a swing-only party is that after an hour or so, one style of music can get VERY old. I have a friend that had a wedding reception and hired one of the hottest Swing bands in town. Money was no object. The band was hired to perform for a 4-hour wedding reception. They were a big hit....for about an hour. After that, the crowd started sitting around and talking, and finally just left. An hour and a half into the gig, the party was over. It wasn't the band's fault. The client had no idea that sometimes...all Swing is too much of a good thing.

Here's a suggestion. If you are hiring a band to play a party or reception, the first thing I would do is discuss my expectations, in detail, with the band leader. Make sure that you are both very clear about what you and they consider Swing music. Select an appropriate amount of Swing material that can be performed by the band without alienating the majority of your guests. If you don't hire a true swing band, then I suggest asking the band if they can play some Swing CD's during their breaks. After they've played all the swing tunes that you are wanting, let them play as wide of a variety as they can handle. The ultimate goal is to have a great time and to ensure that your guests have a great time as well. I would also suggest meeting some common ground with the band you've hired. If they offer a saxophone, that may be an option to enhance the Swing tunes, until the rock and roll kicks in.

I hope that by reading this you have increased your understanding of what Swing music is, what the "swing craze" is all about, and what it means to a working musician. I love Swing and all of the music of that era. I would suggest to any music lover that they do a little research on their own and discover the wide variety of music out there. From Swing, to Rock, Jazz to Country, Fusion to Rhythm and Blues, there are as many styles of music as there are people on the Earth...almost! All you have to do is listen and enjoy.

And who knows...maybe in 75 years, someone else will be writing an article about the Squirrel Nut Zippers and their contribution to 20th Century society.......Maybe not...but you never know....

It's like they always say....what goes around comes around. -JD

I hope you have found this article helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have a question I have not covered in one of these articles. I make this advice available for no charge, as I endeavor to raise the bar of excellence with regard to wedding entertainment.

Doug McAlexander - Arsis Productions

E-mail: arsisproductions@gmail.com

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