Where Swing is King!
Writings about swing by Michael P. Zirpolo and other experts that will provide a context for the music you will be hearing, and allow for a deeper understanding of the music and the people who made it.
“G.T. Stomp” Composed by Walter Hirsch and Gerald Marks; “head” arrangement later formalized by Earl Hines and Budd Johnson. Recorded by Earl Hines and His Orchestra for RCA Bluebird on July 12, 1939 in New [..]
“Blues in the Night” Composed by Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyric); arranged by Lennie Hayton. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra for Victor on September 2, 1941 in New York. Artie Shaw, [..]
“Strange Fruit” Composed by “Lewis Allan” (Abel Meeropol); informally arranged by Danny Mendelsohn. Piano prologue suggested by Milt Gabler. Recorded by Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra for Commodore Records on April 20, 1939 in New [..]
“Stairway to the Stars” Composed by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli (music), and Mitchell Parish (lyric). Arranged by Jerry Gray. Recorded by the New York All-Star Big Band on August 8-9, 2016 in New York. [..]
“For Dancers Only” Composed and arranged by Sy Oliver. Recorded by Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra on June 15, 1937 for Decca in New York. Jimmie Lunceford, directing: Eddie Tompkins, Paul Webster, Sy Oliver, trumpets; [..]
“Star Dust” Composed by Hoagy Carmichael; arranged by Bill Finegan and Glenn Miller. Recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on January 29, 1940 for Bluebird in New York. Glenn Miller, trombone, directing: R.D. McMickle, [..]
“Lush Life” Composed by Billy Strayhorn; arranged by Harold Mooney. Recorded on April 1, 1956 by Sarah Vaughan for Mercury Records in New York. Billy Strayhorn met Duke Ellington backstage at the Stanley Theater in [..]
“Forty Days” Composed by Dave Brubeck. Head arrangement by Dave Brubeck Quartet. Recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for Columbia Records in New York between September 20 and October 13, 1965. Dave Brubeck, piano; Paul [..]
“These Foolish Things” Composed by Eric Maschwitz (Holt Marvel), lyric; Jack Strachey and Harry Link, music. Arranged by Ray Conniff. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra on June 8, 1945 for RCA Victor in [..]
“Rattle and Roll” Composed and arranged by Wilbur “Buck” Clayton. Recorded by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra for Columbia on December 19, 1945 in New York. Benny Goodman, clarinet, directing: Conrad Gozzo, first trumpet; John [..]
“Manha de Carnaval” Music composed by Luiz Bonfa’. Recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio in February, 1962 for Fantasy Records in San Francisco. Vince Guaraldi, piano; Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums. The story: As [..]
The story: In the mid and late 1970s, I was fortunate enough to make several trips to New York City with the specific purpose of trying to hear as much music and see as many [..]
“Tuxedo Junction” Composed by Erskine Hawkins, William Johnson and Julian Dash; head arrangement organized by William Johnson. Recorded by Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra for RCA-Bluebird on July 18, 1939 in New York. Erskine Hawkins, [..]
The story: This post is not about James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Rather, it is a look back at the musical heritage that master swing era (and later) arranger Bill Finegan has left us. William James Finegan [..]
This is the third and final part of swingandbeyond’s centenary tribute to drum legend Buddy Rich, who was born on September 30, 1917. The story: Buddy Rich reached the acme of his career as a [..]
“I Got Rhythm” Composed by George Gershwin; arranged by Fletcher Henderson. Recorded by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra live from the NBC “Let’s Dance” radio show of May 4, 1935. Benny Goodman, clarinet, directing: George [..]
Very recently, swingandbeyond.com has hosted its 10,000th viewer! That is very good news for me and for everyone who likes this thing called swing. This blog has been up and running since March of 2016. [..]
Michael P. Zirpolo’s Review of “Glenn Miller Declassified” by Dennis M. Spragg. The definitive story of how swing era bandleader Glenn Miller was lost on a flight from England to France on December 15, 1944 [..]
“Moten Swing” Composed by Bennie and Buster Moten; arranged by Ray Conniff. Recorded by Bunny Berigan and His Orchestra live from a broadcast over WABC-New York from Roseland Ballroom in New York City in October [..]
“With a Little Help From My Friends” Composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; arranged by Bob Florence. Recorded by Count Basie and His Orchestra on December 15, 1969 for Happy Tiger Records in New [..]
“Smoke Rings” Composed and arranged by H. Eugene Gifford. Recorded by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra for Decca on July 23, 1937 in New York. Glen Gray, saxophone and B-flat clarinet, directing: Walter [..]
The Ripening of “Cherry” “Cherry” Composed by Don Redman; arranged by Jimmy Mundy. Recorded by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra from a CBS radio sustaining broadcast October 27,1937, Madhattan Room, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City. Benny [..]
(This is the second installment in the ongoing Rodgers and Hart celebration here at swingandbeyond.com.) The story: Lee Wiley, born October 9, 1908 in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, and died December 11, 1975 in New York City, was a [..]
NOTE: With this post, swingandbeyond.com inaugurates a small celebration of the music of Rodgers and Hart. Subsequent posts will continue this joyous presentation of the music of one of the greatest song writing teams in [..]
They both grew up in Pittsburgh at the same time, the 1920s and 1930s, and knew each other. They were about the same age. But they were very different people. One was big and boisterous; [..]
MANHATTAN’S BRILL BUILDING A JAZZ SHOWCASE AND MUSICAL SHRINE I am constantly looking for historic buildings that are a part of the fabric of jazz history whenever I am in Manhattan. One building I have [..]
James Francis Dorsey was the older of the Dorsey brothers, and the smaller, in terms of both physical stature and ego. He was a master musician whose virtuosity on both clarinet and alto saxophone was [..]
The story: The summer and fall of 1945 were challenging times for Artie Shaw, the bandleader. After an extensive cross-country tour with his band that lasted from late 1944 until March 15, 1945, he and [..]
“Benny Goodman’s Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert” by Catherine Tackley I recently finished reading this wonderful book, which was published in 2012 as a part of Oxford University Press’s “Studies in Recorded Jazz” series. [..]
“Dawn on the Desert” Composed and arranged by Charlie Shavers Recorded by the John Kirby Sextet for Vocalion on January 9, 1939 in New York. John Kirby, bass, directing: Charlie Shavers, trumpet; William “Buster” [..]