By Walter Price

It is time to get a little bitter and grumpy. Maybe it's the upcoming holiday season, the drab pick of new releases in jazz, or maybe an onset of an early mid-life crisis that has my ire up. This swing fad, NOT swing music has got to be the geekiest, most contrived, synthetic, jump on the bandwagon phenomena since Tickle Me Elmo speaking of the holidays.

I already had my deep reservations about the so called swing fad when I read all those articles from the rats and hacks at JazzAds, DownJazz, and Jazzizn't. Then I saw this corny, embarrassingly, inept segment on swing on one of those CNN weekend magazine shows. Young people who are taking classes to learn how to swing and how young people can dance together in couples without slamming into each other.

Just when I was beginning to respect teenagers for being more open minded than generations before, they get duped easily along with the many nostalgic yuppie wannabes in their 20s and 30s with a multinational commercial fad. Moshing, hippty-hop, and the lotofaloser fest are not for me, but that's okay, it is for the younger generation. Don't start wearing zoot suits, fedoras, and my uncle's church hat to be commercially hip. I don't want most teenagers appreciating the music I like. This is what is cool about being over 30, I can complain about the drivel of Marilyn Manson, Pantera, and the Backstreet Boys. What the hell am I going to do when the bebop craze starts sweeping the nation after another multinational ad?

Taking classes to learn how to swing? I thought you did that for maybe one waltz with Mary Lou at the prom. Aren't you supposed to just go to clubs and pick up the dances by just dancing? I can't believe people are paying other people to learn HOW to swing. When I want to learn how to do a certain dance from some flaky expert, I better be 80 years old at Grumpy Oaks Retirement Center, wearing my super triple absorbent Depends, walker in both hands, pacemaker in my chest, and a loud dialysis machine beside me listening to the bright and cheerful instructor say, "Now that we have mastered the macarena and the cabbage patch, its time for the electric slide. Come on everybody, come on Mrs. Glickman move those thighs off the floor, uh, Mr. Price what are you fumbling with over there?" "Lady help me I have 10 versions of Kind of Blue and I don't know which one is the correct version." "Don't worry, I heard a better version is coming out this year!"

Now jazz fan you're going to say, Walt take it easy, the swing craze is good for jazz music as well. WRONG, this is a pseudo fad that will fizzle soon and this music will not lead many new fans to the Mingus Big Band, Maria Schneider, Gerald Wilson, or even to Sonny Rollins and Cedar Walton. My apologies to people like Brian Setzer or the Red Hot Skillet Lickers who are very talented and sincere to their craft, but most of this music sounds like a hybrid of fad and swing. I'm sorry but after listening to Duke, Benny, Fletcher, and the Count I can't get into Squirrel Nut Flippers. Please teenagers, don't be duped by young professionals who have money, no life, and too much time on their hands to pay for dance lessons and just keep moshing or we all have to suffer through next year's beach music craze that will be sweeping the nation.

 

Date:	03-Nov-1998 18:02:39
From:	ChrisSte
	I seem to be walking both sides of your line Walter. I am a neophyte to jazz, but am trying to firmly ground myself in the "classics" before exploring today's "Young Lions" (did I use the hack-speak term correctly :) ) -And btw it's very hard to do so without a lot of gumshoe work, reading liner notes, encyclopedias and the like, and renting videos like Jazz on a Summer's Day and A Great Day in Harlem. (I guess I'm agreeing with your previous slams on JazzAds) But I would say that the swing revival is good for jazz in general. A recent issue of AdWeek showed that using music in commercials greatly inspires album sales for the original artist. The Gap Ad featuring Jump, Jive & Wail is not only helping Brian Setzer, but Louie Prima sales as well. I myself went to the store, bought the Setzer version, the Prima version, and while I was there, picked up a Louis Jordan hits album because of Joe Jackson's tribute album Jumpin' Jive and Jordan's inclusion on the Swinger's soundtrack. Now a competing Docker's ad featuring another song from the era has me searching for that artist/album. I am now a HUGE fan of everything from swing to hard-bop, and plan to stay that way for life. In a year, I've been able to find all kinds of things I like from Prima & Hampton to Monk, Mulligan & Chet Baker, Miles, Coltrane, Milt Jackson, MJQ, Adderly, Art Blakey, and more. -And my list of things to try on grows daily... I was never exposed to any of these recordings other than TV ads and movies, and maybe would still be trying to get a toehold if it wasn't for the accessibility of the swing fad. I also must confess, I like everyone else am taking swing lessons. -But I don't want to wear the clothes, grease my hair, etc. I like the sound and just want to be able to dance with my wife on our wedding day. -And when we dance, it won't be to the soul-less recyclings of Squirrel Nut Zippers or the Cherry Poppin Wannabes. It'll be to Louie Prima, Lionel Hampton, Benny and the like. -The folks who got it right the first time. Anyway, my point is, if 5% of the young folks listening to swing internalize the music and don't throw it out with their bowling shirts when the fad dies, it's good for jazz. And who knows, maybe there's a very, very young lion, sitting in a car seat right now rockin'in rythym to "Flying Home" on a swing-fad inspired popular radio time-slot, and he just caught a lifelong inspiration to someday make his own music. (Does Fischer Price make a vibraphone?)

 

Date:	23-Dec-1998 01:57:07
From:	Jon (edwin@iswt.com)
	sirs, about this notion that 1998 swing music fans are not of the caliber as the 1938 jazz fan. I have been a jazz fan for nearly 50 years. the first swing/jazz i ever heard was from a neighbor who played all of the tommy dorsey records over and over and over. in the summer time in tennessee in 1945 all the doors and windows were open..... we heard and absorbed some of the tunes of tommy. shortly thereafter we heard a lot of benny goodman and glen miller and louis armstrong came to memphis quite often and we heard his small group many times.... later duke ellington and count basie and woody herman and stan kenton were available in person.. by this time i had become immersed in the whole body of jazz....and i was a downbeat subscriber and as records became plentiful we saved our nickels and bought what we could....people like johnnie hodges small group.... tab smith and earl bostic had this jump swing and louie jordon was a true entertainer... and then the dizzie's the miles, the roland kirk and stan getz and on and on..... so whats the point you may be saying......???? i believe any swing revivial is to be encouraged and promoted.....because 1. kids need to get exccited about dancing and jiving the original swing fad was made up mostly of young couples....they were not musicians for the most part, but they liked what they heard..... 2. with exposure this swing will evolve into something unique to our current times. 3. there is a young group from austin,texas that i love. they are called eight and one-half.....they have a guitar player that sounds exactly like django reinhardt. i should know.....i have more django records than anyone except duke ellington....if they come to your area; be sure to see them in person. (8 1/2).. forgive the length of this thing but personally i am excited that some aspect of jazz is oozing to the surface. It may be a time for a revival......amen. jon M. tennessee

 

Date:	16-Mar-1999 15:54:57
From:	steve(thelil) (thelil@ix.netcom.com)
	Like all other labels, "New Swing" is annoying because it will confuse newcomers as to what "swing" is, since some "New Swing" is really jump blues or r&b. (Although "new swing" is closer to swing than "smooth jazz" is to jazz!)

 

Date:	06-Feb-2001 10:49:53
From:	jim (bob@kih.net)
	I agree

 

Date:	06-Feb-2001 10:50:55
From:	jim (bob@kih.net)
	i still agree

 

Date:	06-May-2001 07:32:13
From:	Michael
	No new swing? Hey, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Or would you rather have nothing but Pearljam or Britney Spears or Twopack(Tupac) broadcast over the air and blasting from cars and boomboxs for the rest of our lives? (If the answer is yes, don't worry, I'm sure it will happen). I listened to a little Bop, Cool & Free, growing up; but I got tired of it. Rock'n'roll(& R&B), Blues, Rock, Classical, and various Traditional musics were my preferred styles. I hated Fusion(except for Miles). Finally, I picked up on Country. Anyway, as the years went passing by, as much as I loved the aforementioned musics; I began to crave even more variety. I found a big part of that new variety in Jazz. I liked New Orleans, Dixieland, Bop, Free, etc., but I always thought Big Band was corny (ahem...some of it is...). I heard some of the "new swing" (sorry, it isn't ALL simply R&B), and then began to check out some of the big names of the past(yes, I had heard some of it before, but not much, really):Basie, Ellington, Goodman, Kenton, Herman. Eventually, I even developed more tolerance for Fusion. Even though Jazz still isn't my favorite type of music; I find myself listening to it more and more. It seems to calm my mind (believe me, I need that). Besides, I like to listen to something different. Sometimes I don't like the direction a Jazz piece takes; but I still enjoy listening to it, just to see what unfolds. There's a certain kind of musical freedom there. All I'm saying is that "new swing" is part of what drew me back into Jazz. There is room, y'know. So why don't you take it easy?

 

Date:	22-May-2001 03:37:27
From:	Laura K.
	In reference to the initial commentary, I just want to put in a few words for the "teenagers today". I, myself, was a teenager when I started learning to swing (alos when the commentary was first posted). I recognize the original writer's concerns about the effect of this "fad" on Jazz. In fact, I agree to some extent, but I wish to add an alternate view point. Keep in mind, that I was a teenager when this all started. As for the musical aspect: I started out liking the traditional swing music and I listened to Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman religiously. Next on my list was Count Basie and some Glenn Miller. Once I actually got into the "swing scene" I did discover some new names such as Lavay Smith and the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra. I was also introduced to a lot of groups that I found to be technically and creatively lacking in the Neo-swing genre. Yes, some of it comes from commercialism and the fad part of the movement, but I think a number of good artists and musicians are emerging and thriving because of the audience created by the movement. I know that there are even some artists/groups/combos who've been playing for years and are getting more bookings now because there is a need for their music. I also agree with a previous comment of commercials introducin older music to new audiences. There are a number of songs that I have run across on commercials and wanted to look up. That's what got me into Benny Goodman - the Chips Ahoy commercial that used Sing, Sing, Sing. I am sorry that that is the end of my comments on the musical aspects of the the writer's article. If you have no interest in the dance/attire rebutals, please read no further. In response to the comments on dancing and taking swing lessons: I don't know where I ever really found out about swing dancing, but I knew of it long before the GAP ad and the mass-commercialization. I tried to get my mother to teach me, but that didn't work out very well. I just couldn't get it. Because of the fad, I was able to learn after years of wanting to know how. When I first started, it was by taking classes at my college when I came in as a freshman. There were no clubs around my home area before that, so I wasn't able to go to a club and pick it up. Even if there had been a club somewhere, I think I would not have been able to pick it up it just by going. I had never done any kind of dance before other than the "rocking-back-and-forth-in-place-to-a-slow-song" type. Even getting the very most basic step was really difficult for me at first. I don't think my generation is used to dancing with steps and especially not used to dancing with a partner. It's a whole new thing if you've never done it before. I must admit that I've learned more from dancing at clubs than I would have taking lessons, but I think lessons are an important part of getting the basic idea down and getting used to the steps. Lastly, I'd like to comment on the idea of people dressing in zoots and fedoras and period clothing: I am a "vintage" clothing fanatic. I'm tired of today's clothing standards. I like looking like a woman, and I have a very classical figure, so a lot of the fitted garments from the 40s and 50s fit me in a flattering way. This is a good thing since I can't find clothing that fits correctly in normal major-label stores at this time. I also believe that there's better craftsmanship in the older clothing. I live in "vintage". I admit that I know people who get the suit and the hat so that they can look the part and look like they know how to dance, but there's also a great number of us who wear the stuff because it is a "new" type of elegance that we crave and can't find anywhere else. The entire swing movement is my alternative to thrashing around angrily, because that part of my generation's culture does not mesh with me. I must admit that the techno/rave scene interests me as well, but my heart and soul lies in the swingin' groove that is modern swing. Please don't be perturbed with us for trying to bring back what I believe to be one of the greatest things of american culture. To those who've read this far. Thanks for your time. I hope this has been unoffensive and insightful, for I mean no ill-will toward anyone. I just wished to speak fom a teenage perspective. : )

 

Date:	22-May-2001 17:16:54
From:	Missy O (md0119@psu.edu)
	I agree with Laura. I think in order to get to the core of the new movement, you have to get past all of the commercialization and go to a club where people are there to experience partner dancing, meet new people and have fun. I like looking nice, I hate baggy pants, I don't want to be anorexic, and I don't wear tight clothing either. That basically takes away all the present style in our society for young people. What do I have left? Styles from the past that accentuate my womanly curves (which isn't the current look now.) I took swing lessons because I wanted to learn, because many people don't have time to teach you what you need to know at a club. Once you have the basics, its much easier to pick it up from there. I love partner dancing because of its backbone lessons: 1. Be courteous 2. Have fun and smile 3. Challenge yourself 4. Make new friends, meet new people, connect Those of us that take these lessons and have a great time with swing don't always enjoy the commercialism that comes out of the movement. Now that the "fad" as you called it has died and only the people that really love swing are still in the clubs, its even more fun. Anything that promotes good clean fun is harmless, live and let live. PS--Swing was being taught since partner dancing left the public eye in the 50's, and was still being taught when it re-entered the public eye in the 1990's. Regarding the music--just like any movement there are people who will move into a popular genre to make money. There are those that have been there and plan on staying there, and these musicians are easy to spot for their talent. I like all kinds of swing, Rock-a-billy, rock and roll, and jazz, however there are definitely musicians out there that don't deserve the public exposure they get. When these represent a movement to the larger public, its easy to stereotype a movement. Bill Elliott and Eddie Reed have new big bands that are very popular in the new scene, try them on for size, then we'll see if you change your mind.

 

Date:	08-Oct-2001 08:07:46
From:	Timothy (Merlin_44805@hotmail.com)
	To those of you who think that us youths can't appreciate jazz, you can kiss it. You have no idea just how much of an impact jazz has had on my friends and I. The major type of music I ever listen to is jazz. I have a jazz library of over 24 hours straight of jazz music, and i grows every day. My friend Steph Schuster and I swing dance everywhere we go, with or without music. When we get a group of friends together, we bring our albums of Miller, Dizzy, Duke, Benny, and the rest of the gang. You just blindly assume that because it's written digitally on a piece of metal instead of with a needle on a piece of vinyl, it's not as good. I don't know what it is that makes all you "adults" have more of an understanding or makes us "youth" have less of an appreciation, but you can take your opinion and stuff it. You're wrong. Playing clarinet in a fully legitimate jazz performance group (the best one in my state, by the judges' standards), soloing over Louis Prima's Sing Sing Sing, Shaw's Begin the Beguine, and many others gives me enough authority to say I know damn well what jazz is, and how to appreciate it. I am 18 years old, for all you old timers who think that's too young. Know what that means? I can dance faster!