J Street Jumpers: Good for Stompin'

For Good for Stompin' the Jumpers have put together another mixture of very distinct styles from 1930s Harlem and New Orleans, to the L.A. Swing scene of the late 1940s. The J Street Jumpers are a well-known swing band in our nation's capital, and they spend much of their time filling dance floors all through the mid-Atlantic states. Created in the early 1990s by tenor sax man Charlie Hubel, the band has worked to build admiration from the Washington DC club and music scenes.

The selections on this compilation, many of them Dinah Washington tunes, bring to the fore some of the subtle nuances of the early days of R&B. There is truth in vocals by lead singer Carmen Velarde that tell of a style long lost in a pop music world. The two selections performed by pianist Arthur Gerstein (particularly the almost rockabilly "Boogie Woogie King") present a faithful representation of the vibe from the time. Gerstein's tone reflects the gritty, hard-life sound of '30s R&B.

The group shows how swing/R&B should be done in this cold modern age of CD mass production and mp3 players.