4 3 2 1 Swing

Guitarist Bireli Lagrene spent his teenage years sounding very close in style to Django Reinhardt. For this German import, his second recording, the 14-year old romps in Djangoish fashion on such tunes as "Djangology," "Lady Be Good" and "Nuages" but also was starting to show some individuality on his own originals. Most of the selections are performed with one or two rhythm guitarists and a bassist, all Europeans. Lagrene has since grown as a player; if only he had had the opportunity this early to record with violinist Stephane Grappelli before his own style changed.

1923-1927 (1990). Pianist Bennie Moten led one of the finest jazz bands on record in the 1920s, a group that included many of the top musicians of the Midwest. On the first of four Classics CDs - all of which are recommended to vintage jazz collectors - that reissue the master takes of all of Moten's recordings, the band quickly evolves from a sextet in 1923 to a solid 11-piece orchestra. Despite a few novelty effects (including clarinetist Woody Walder occasionally getting weird sounds by playing only the mouthpiece of his horn), even the most primitive numbers on this set are quite enjoyable. Highlights include the original version of "South" (Moten's big hit), "Goofy Dust," "Thick Lip Blues" and "Sugar"…

In January 1997 the Brande International Music Workshop Orchestra (BIMWO) recorded an album of neatly arranged progressive modern European jazz at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse. Conducted by Chicago-born trombonist Ray Anderson, the octet performed six of his original compositions; "Bimwo Swing," the title track of the CD released the following year, makes an unmistakable reference to Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing." An earlier example of Anderson's neo-Monk titling occurred in 1989 as "Raven-A-Ning" on the album What Because. "Tapajack" first appeared on Right Down Your Alley in 1984; "Datune" on Blues Bred in the Bone in 1988; "Snoo Tune" on Every One of Us in 1992, and "Leo's Place" on the Big Band Record with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band in 1994…

Mark O'Connor's second CD with his Hot Swing Trio is more than just a salute to the late, legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli; it firmly establishes as him as a bona fide jazz violin virtuoso, thanks to being distributed by a major label this time around. The capable guitarist Frank Vignola plays gypsy swing à la Django Reinhardt without sounding like a clone; bassist Jon Burr, who spent a decade as a member of Grappelli's rhythm section in his last years, provides a perfect match for his two bandmates. Each member of the trio contributed originals to the session. O'Connor's "In Full Swing" is absolutely breathtaking, while it is fun imagining how Grappelli and Reinhardt might have interpreted his enticing "Stephane and Django"…

Recorded "live" 12.09.1996 at Birdland (Hamburg).
Michael Naura (producer): "I have to admit it: I am a fan of Swing. Those concerts in which Armenian goatherders and a Berlin saxophonist throw phrases back and forth to each other, are alien to me. I feel closer to a trio of Hampton, Tatum and Rich. And my friend Wolfgang Schlueter (all of the world´s greatest vibraphonists shine through his playing, even Lionel Hampton) gives me the chance to answer the following "Tolstoy-esce" question: "How much Swing does jazz need?" The Swing Kings give the answer:
One day I announced: "OK, we’re off to the club "Birdland"! The NDR is making a recording there!" That was September 12, 1996. One of those nights! The trio was nostalgic to their finger tips…

Featuring Robert Parker's excellent transfers from original mint-condition 78s, Swing 1930-1938 covers a somewhat overlooked period in Ellington's career. Lodged between his maiden hits from the Cotton Club period and the pinnacle recordings made during the early '40s, Ellington's many fine, depression-era sides include classics like "Sophisticated Lady," "Caravan," and "Prelude to a Kiss." And while this disc does not feature any of those gems (sorry for the buildup), it does contain one of Ellington's biggest hits in Ivie Anderson's singing debut "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," as well minor classics like "Rockin' in Rhythm," "Drop Me Off at Harlem," and "Stepping Into Swing Society." And in addition to the usual surfeit of quality solos by band regulars Johnny Hodges, Joe Nanton, and Harry Carney…

1931-1933 (1990). The first of three Don Redman Classics CDs consists of his orchestra's earliest sessions. Although Redman's big band never hit it as big as his former employers' (Fletcher Henderson and McKinney's Cotton Pickers), it was an impressive outfit, thanks to the leader's advanced arrangements. Among the key sidemen on these performances are trumpeters Red Allen (who is on the first two sessions) and Sidney DeParis, tenor saxophonist Robert Carroll, and pianist Horace Henderson. Highlights include "Chant of the Weed" (Redman's atmospheric theme song), "I Heard," "How'm I Doin'," and "Hot and Anxious." The main Don Redman CD to get…