Swing

Last Monday night a tornado from out of Kansas City shuffled into town, settled down at the Southland, and proceeded to agitate all the window shades, rugs, and sundry jitterbugs gathered therein. Agitation was headed by Lester Young, tenor sax for the tornado, commonly known as Count Basie's band.

Many musicians consider the above to be a good description of the way in which the Basic band plays. There is a sense of almost overwhelming power about the band, due to its great rhythm section and general ability to relax, that creates immense swing without being noisy. This is typical of what is known as Kansas City swing (Andy Kirk and Jimmy Lunceford are bands of the same style); whenever you hear a band playing with that feeling of being just behind the beat, but not worrying too much about catching up, and brass with great solidity but not noise, you have Kansas City swing and music worth listening to. Goodman tried to build a white band that could play this way (and had one for a while), but as soon as he added Harry James and the "powerhouse trumpet" style, he should have rented the band out for pile-driving, not for playing swing.

Count's band, when it's on, is "the best swing band in the country." The quote marks enclose a remark of Mr. Goodman's. It has the greatest rhythm section ever put together. Proof offered is any one of Count's solos wherein you get his weird boogie piano backed by rhythm which is quiet, but which seems to say "Out of our way, we've swing to play." Get the Count to play you some slow blues with Jimmy Rushing singing a chorus, Lester Young playing clarinet, and piano by Mr. Basic himself; then go home and see if you still like Clinton.

The Dunster House dance of a week ago forces this reviewer to add Jack Teagarden's outfit to the Red Norvo-Jimmy Dorsey classification of coming bands. The band has excellent arrangements, is very danceable, Jack's trombone playing is as great as it ever was, and the total effect is very good. Highlight of the evening was Jack's playing a waltz at special request, and proceeding to play the blues in three-four time. Suggested exercise for prospective track men; Walk up to anybody in Jack's band and say that Tommy Dorsey is the world's greatest trombone player--and then run like hell.

Notes between the notes: Boston, supposedly a non-swing town, has Duke Ellington at the Roseland and Jack Teagarden at the Raymor tonight, Woody Herman and Harry James in a battle of swing at the Roseland tomorrow, and Basie at the Southland . . . Not generally known, but still true is the Anglo-Saxon word for music: "swin(g)" . . . Word slips through from New York that Teddy Wilson's new band will open at the Famous Door late in April; and that Bud Freeman is going to take a mixed band into one of the night spots. A grand idea:--Goodman started the breakdown of the Jim Crow traditions in regard to colored musicians playing with white, and it now looks as though a mixed band may have some chance for success. . . . Jimmy Dorsey's newest disc, "It's All Yours" has a vocal by Helen O'Connell that, despite the handicap of bad key, shows much improvement. Catch her last two measures and Herb Haymer's fragment at the end . . . Decca records, having lost Jimmy Lunceford, goes out and digs up a band by the name of Floyd Ray that not only plays like Lunceford, but shows possibilities of becoming much better . . . For drumming with all of Krupa's speed and flash but with taste and drive, listen to Cozy Cole on Callaway's "Ratamacue" (Vocalion) . . . Not swing, but still very funny is the Commodore release of "Private Jives," a parody on Noel Coward's "Private Lives" . . . Word also slips 'round that Vocalion has succumbed to the album craze, turning out a collection of old Fletcher Henderson platters.