A Promise Made Is A Debt Unpaid
"Now You Has Jazz Swing"A WWII-era sampler mix for Kevin & Bunny(kanashiminokizu)
What’s Swing? Well, technically to a musician it’s a single note in a series of notes tied together that “leans” into the notes in that series forcing the other ones to go shorter as it goes longer (if only for a fraction of a beat) thus producing a “swung” note. That’s not the only thing that Swing is, tho.
Swing is a school of Jazz music that basically came from black popular music performers and arrangers selling their songs to white popular music performers, recognizing the social restrictions that institutionalized racism in the United States (and elsewhere) had established, or taking advantage of these restrictions to allow the white performers to play “black” music for white audiences, who would otherwise be expected to listen to a “cleaner” style of Ragtime or Jazz music. Swing gave birth to the Jitterbug and to traditional Rock and Roll. Swing as a musical form, came from Dixieland Jazz and African American rhythm and blues and was introduced to white audiences by bands that either had mixed racial backgrounds or that had recognized that their own abilities left them better suited to performing music that would have them labeled as miscegenators by the more close-minded majority at the time. Swing was *not* politically correct. In the least. Period. It was only considered correct by people after it had been absorbed into popular culture and a newer, more threatening form of popular music had taken its place (that would be Rock and Roll / Rhythm and Blues / Be-Bop).
That doesn’t answer a thing yet, does it?
Swing is Bing Crosby crooning in a way that would have young ladies throwing their panties up on the stage, something that had never happened before. Swing is waves of bobby-soxers fainting at Jimmy Dorsey concerts about thirty seconds into Frank Sinatra’s vocal solo. Swing is Patti Andrews buzzing like a bee and then growling “He can’t blow a note if the bass and guitar isn’t with uMMMMMM” and then stage-laughing as she emulates the back-beat trumpet she’s singing about - and then that trumpet serenading her in a slow-time reveille love song back in return. Swing is Maury Putril knowing he has a captive audience and almost utter silence as he starts tap-tap-tapping with the cow-bell before Glenn Miller’s big band blows the roof off in the final chorus of IN THE MOOD. Swing is the unmistakable feeling that you just have to shake your butt at the almost alchemical combination of horn, drum and sweet sweet woodwind.
Swing is Bob Haggart and Ray Bauduc playing a duet on an upright bass for Bing's brother Bob Crosby the way people have been playing duets on a piano and nobody has ever done since, only to end in the muted crash of a cymbal. Swing is Raymond Scott’s four man Quintette making industrial noise with their instruments and the back-beat of a trap-drum. Swing is Peggy Lee bitchily reminding you that she doesn’t need your flat-broke, gin-soaked, messed-up ass anywhere near her and that you might as well just leave. Swing is Betty Hutton’s church bell clear voice proclaiming that nobody, no matter who, no matter what social standing or where, is ever going to love you as much as she does, and she’ll go into a pantomime Indian war-dance to make sure you know. Swing is Spike Jones’ City Slickers razzberrying Nazism as many times as they could in a three minute pop song, and doing it on Walt Disney’s dime. Swing is an entire generation realizing, if only for a while, that everyone feels joy, feels love, feels loss, that everyone no matter what color their skin is can have some fun and dance til they’re mopping their brows. Swing is all of this and more, and now you “has” it!.
01 Bing & Satchmo - Now You Has Jazz (4:13)
02 Glen Miller - In The Mood (3:35)
03 Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (2:48)
04 Artie Shaw - Begin the Begine (3:16)
05 Frank Sinatra - Time After Time (3:12)
06 Bill Banks and his Orchestra - (Don't Mean a Thing)If It Ain't Got That Swing (2:48)
07 Benny Goodman - Tiger Rag (3:20)
08 Peggy Lee - Why Don't You Do Right (2:27)
09 Raymond Scott Quintette - Powerhouse (2:55)
10 Ella Fitzgerald - A Tisket A Tasket (2:39)
11 Benny Goodman Orchestra - Bolero (2:41)
12 Bing Crosby - Swingin On A Star (2:27)
13 Bob Crosby and his Bobcats - Big Noise from Winnetka 1939 (2:31)
14 Spike Jones & His City Slickers - Der Fuhrer's Face (2:39)
15 Bob Hope & Helen Fielding - Thanks For The Memory (3:08)
16 Benny Goodman & Helen Forrest - Smoke gets In Your Eyes (3:13)
17 Betty Hutton & Hoagie Carmicheal w Paul Weston Orch - Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief (3:07)
18 Ink Spots - To Each His Own (3:13)
19 Danny Kaye & The Andrews Sisters - Civilisation (3:00)
20 Harry James - I've Heard That Song Before (3:02)
21 Bob Hope and Andrews Sisters - Sonny Boy (1:30)
22 Benny Goodman (w Gene Krupa) - Sing, Sing, Sing (Carnege Hall) (12:08)
23 Spike Jones and his City Slickers - Hawaiian War Chant (2:46)
Total Time Count : 79:31
Download available right here, folks!
And, for those of you wanting a taster but not the full 5-10 min. download time, here's Jimmy Durante singing "Inka Dinka Doo!"