Swing

A style, a sound, a dance! For his tenth studio album the crooner of Saint-Germain marks his big comeback with "Rock and Swing": an album consisting of 50% of rock ,50% of swing and 100% of dancing which celebrates the love and the fury of living!

On this continually interesting CD, the Manhattan Transfer revisits tunes from the swing era, in some cases re-creating (through vocalese) specific recordings. Benny Goodman's 1935 version of "King Porter Stomp," Bennie Moten's 1932 recording of "Moten's Swing," Glenn Miller's "I Know Why," Charlie Barnet's "Skyliner," and Fletcher Henderson's exciting arrangement of "Down South Camp Meetin'" are among the many highlights. The vocals are superb (particularly Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne), although one wishes that the individual members had more of a chance to improvise within the style. The backup groups are different than one would expect, including the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, violinist Mark O'Connor (Stéphane Grappelli makes a special appearance on "Clouds"), and steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. Recommended.

Released during the historic and unusual 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign, "Swing The Vote!" offers an antidote to election fatigue with some of the most fun Postmodern Jukebox remakes, recorded at the collective's Los Angeles "Bro Mountain" studio. Newcomer Addie Hamilton leads off the collection with a hard swingin' remake of Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl", and Robyn Adele Anderson's vocals on "Hollaback Girl" remind the listener why she was PMJ's first breakout star vocalist. Clark Beckham joins the cast for a classy soul remake of the notorious "Rick roll" theme, "Never Gonna Give You Up", and Casey Abrams' take on "Sweet Child O' Mine" showcases his vocal chops and charismatic personality. There's even a debut from the youngest PMJ member - 14 year old vocal prodigy Caroline Baran, in her first commercially available recording.

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra was formed in Nov. 1969 by Johnny Arthy, a lover of 1920's jazz who sought to lead a dance-oriented jazz-influenced big band specializing in music from the 1923-37 period. The British band gained its name because Arthy liked the obscure song "Pasadena." The orchestra had its first gig in April 1970 and soon Arthy came across a windfall, 1, 500 original arrangements from the 1920's practically given away by an elderly lady whose father had been musical director of a dance band in the twenties. The P.R.O. started out playing once a week but, after the success of their first album in 1974, they turned professional and began working much more often.