Next week I would like to show you one of my favourite versions of One O’Clock Jump. Before that, our song of the week is the original version. One O’Clock Jump is THE song by the Count Basie Orchestra. Basie composed the tune, Eddie Durham and Buster Smith did the arrangement. It was recorded 1937 and became their first big success. It was so popular that Basie used it as the closing song in almost every concert for more than fifty years! This classic Swing tune is written in the form of a 12-bar blues. Basically it has a simple [...]

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Charles Henry “Charlie” Christian (29.07.1916-02.03.1942) was a jazz guitarist during the swing era and a pioneer on the electric guitar. With the amplification it was possible to bring out the guitar from the rhythm section and to use it as a solo instrument. Thanks to his talent, Charlie popularized the electric guitar in jazz. He developed melody lines with a single-string technique, influenced more by the brass instruments and woodwinds than the guitar players of that time. His goal was to sound like a tenor saxophone. In 1939 Charlie Christian was discovered by jazz producer John Hammond who introduced him [...]

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Artie Shaw (1910-2004), one of the greatest clarinet players in jazz, built and led five different and distinguishable orchestras during the swing era. 1939 he left his second orchestra all of a sudden and spent two months in Mexico. After coming back to New York, he recorded Frenesi in the first session by using a large string section, and the tune became a major hit. Frenesi has a happy feeling with a lot of breaks and latin elements (it reminds me of Paso Doble) in it. I like it! And you? Title: Frenesi Artist: Artie Shaw & His Orchestra Recorded: [...]

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I discovered this album by Cootie Williams last year (2009) and it’s a winner. Every single song got a 5 star rating by me for Swing dancing! The tune I’ve chosen is also the title of the album, the Jazz standard Do Nothing ‘Till You Hear From Me. Originally recorded 1940 as Concerto For Cootie by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, where Williams was a prominent member for years. Charlie Melvin “Cootie” Williams (1911-1985) was one of the most influential Jazz trumpeters during the Swing era. His trademark was the growl style by using a plunger mute (in the tradition of [...]

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