Classic Swing Usa

American guitarist Frank Vignola fronts this contemporized version of the classic Django Reinhardt-Stephane Grappelli combo, joined by 58-year-old Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos, second guitarist Eric Bogart and bassist Phil Flanagan. They swing through several of the original Hot Club's classics, American popular standards, and a couple of unexpected asides. Of the repertoire joined at the hip to Reinhardt and Grappelli, the well-swung "Djangology" shows Vignola as a mad hatter with triple time and twiddling phraseology, even at slower tempos. The gypsy anthem "Dark Eyes" has the two guitarists rumbling in flamenco style, Britos soloing all alone before Vignola wrests the swing away from him. Vignola is a furious demon of strummed chords, churning up a storm during the bookended selections "I Found a New Baby" and the hot, hot, hot "Stompin' at Decca"…

This fine CD includes performances from many of the most popular small jazz groups that played in New York's 52nd Street during the swing era. There are two hot numbers by The Delta Four (featuring trumpeter Roy Eldridge and clarinetist Joe Marsala), three from the goodtime ensemble The Spirits of Rhythm, a trio from violinist Stuff Smith's Onyx Club Band (which co-starred trumpeter Jonah Jones, three others from John Kirby's sextet, four numbers by Leonard Feather's All-Star Jam Band (with altoists Benny Carter and Pete Brown, cornetist Bobby Hackett and clarinetist Joe Marsala), three from trumpeter/vocalist Hot Lips Page and a pair of selections by pianist Sam Price's Texas Bluesicians including "Just Jivin' Around" which has a particularly rare solo from the great tenor Lester Young. Veteran collectors will have most of these performances in more complete fashion elsewhere but this is an excellent sampler for fans of small-group swing.

Dire Straits' minimalist interpretation of pub rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers…

Dire Straits' minimalist interpretation of pub rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits – even the group's breakthrough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected pub rock band – their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefathers, occasionally dipping into jazz and country…