By the late 1920s, jazz had become commonplace. Jazz became dance music more than before. Besides pubs and speakeasies, the venues shifted to ballrooms, theatres and cabarets. In the 1930s, numerous big bands emerged in the US and in Europe, all trying to gather the best soloists. Even today, the names of the band leaders have a familiar sound: Count Basie, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and, of course, Glenn Miller. To get in the mood, you can listen to a swinging Count Basie and his orchestra with the “One O’clock Jump” (1960).
What distinguishes swing from old jazz?
Swing usually replaces of two beats per measure, typical of old jazz (ta – ta – ) with four, with the last beat getting an extra accent (ta, ta, ta, pom). Beats thus follow each other at a much faster pace. Technically, this was made possible by replacing the sousaphone with the double bass. This makes swing sound more fluidly than Dixieland music.
The saxophone supplanted the role of the trumpet as a solo instrument. Moreover, the saxophone section often carried the melody, while the (slide)trumpets provided melodic accents. The rhythm section also played a more important role than in Dixieland music. For the first time, there were solos on percussion. Most bands replaced the raw sound of the banjo with the softer sounds of the guitar. Experienced arrangers contributed to the timbre, but experienced band members provided the difference through their improvisations.
You can hear that here in the swinging performance of “Suger Foot Stomp” by Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra (1926). The difference with old jazz is evident when you compare this recording here with a recording of the same song also by Henderson’s orchestra from 1920.
Dance music
The swing era produced many songs that can still be heard somewhere to this day. Listen to “It Don’t Mean A Thing” (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) played by ‘Duke’ Ellington’s band and sung by the first lady of song Ella Fitzgerald (1965).
Especially for the younger, swing was dance music par excellence. This also prompted the spread of Lindy hop, a dance style that is still practiced today. The name was derived from the aviator Charles Lindbergh who had taken a solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927, gaining great popularity. The style was somewhere between Charleston and breakdance with a touch of acrobatics. In the following recording of “In The Mood” from the film Hollywood Hotel (1937), you can hear the ‘hot swing’ of Benny Goodman’s band and the virtuoso drumming of Gene Krupa, and you can also admire samples of the Lindy hop.
Between ‘hot’ and ‘sweet’ swing
Gradually, big bands’ repertoire began to include more than swinging dance music. This was because big bands played not only in ballrooms but also in revues and musicals. Also, big bands increasingly became accompanying orchestras of vocalists, such as Ella Fitzgerard, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, who had a varied repertoire. Besides ‘hot swing’, they therefore played ‘sweet swing’, which was quieter and geared towards the older age group. This group distanced itselves from jazz because of its often complex improvisations, high tempo, wild dancing and sometimes daring lyrics. But several musicians also condemned the commercial and musical excesses of swing and returned to the old jazz. Tension between music as a form of entertainment and art form is something of all times.
Numerous jazz standards
As was the case with Dixieland music, the swing period produced many jazz standards (characteristic songs). Some you have already been able to listen to; a few others are: “Begin the Beguine“, “Chattanooga Choo Choo“, “King Porter Stomp“, “Sing, Sing, Sing“, “Body and Soul” and “Caravan“. A full list can be found here. There is no point in listing the performers as they have been in the repertoire of many dozens of bands, singers or vocalists.
The imminent end of the swing era….
After 1940, things gradually went downhill for the big bands, many performers had to enlist and, because of war funding, the government increased the entertainment tax for all dance venues. Moreover, the musicians won a long-running case over their share of record sales. The cost of a big band became too high, and bands disbanded. Some of the musicians started looking for new ways. In their opinion, both the compositions of hot and sweet swing were increasingly driven by commercial considerations. They wanted to restore jazz as an art form. That is what my next post is about.
….. But not for good
Big bands and swing music made several comebacks. The bands of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman, which advertised themselves as progressive jazz, retained plenty of fans, thanks to their innovative arrangements and high-level soloists such as Stan Getz. Many radio and television stations established their own big bands to accompany singers. In the Netherlands, the Ramblers occupy a special position among these. Founded in 1926, the Ramblers became VARA’s house orchestra in 1964. After the dissolution of the VARA dance orchestra in 1974, the name Ramblers was reinstated and became the house orchestra of the TROS. Here you can watch a promo of this almost 100-year-old orchestra, which, like many similar former big bands, has significantly broadened its repertoire.
The renewed popularity of Duke Ellington’s band is partly due to its performance at the 1956 Newport jazz festival. Due to circumstances, the band started hours late. On the programme was Ellington’s composition “Crescendo & Diminuendo in Blue”. A piece consisting of two parts, connected by a short solo by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. At the beginning of the solo, a woman started dancing in the aisle, soon hundreds of other audience members followed. Thousands more stood up and began rhythmically clapping along and encouraging the soloist. Ellington let Gonsalves play on for six minutes, which set one of the best improvisations in jazz ever. The audience was delirious and when the song finally ended, a minute-long standing ovation followed and album sales jumped. The ‘Duke’ uttered the legendary words, “Today I was born”. You can listen to the entire performance below; the audience’s reactions are less audible in this filming. For that, you can listen to a radio recording of the entire song here, with textual commentary on the performance.
Swing into the 21ste century
Gipsy swing or jazz manouche is the only in Europe variant within the genre of swing. Founders were jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli, and they became famous with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Interest in this style waned when the swing era came to an end, but from the 1970s d the appreciation returned in full and many French children nowadays often learn to play gipsy jazz at an early age. Incidentally, there are at least a hundred bands playing jazz manouche in the Netherlands, united in the Stichting Hotclub de France.
In the post-1990 period, swing revived worldwide, albeit with fewer personnel on stage. Bands like Royal Crown Revue and Lavay Smith, performed old or new songs in the original style. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Caravan Palace, added a touch of rock and ska to their swing performance. With Caravan Palace – a French group – that’s a good dash of gipsy swing. Each of these bands is worth a listen.
I invite you to listen to one of the many contemporary bands playing the original gipsy swing, in this case the jazz standard “Minor Swing” composed by Django Reinhardt and performed by the Saint Andreu Jazz Band (2013).
Society, environment, art and music 