When the first Swing rhythms derived from Jazz in the 20s and 30s of the last century, nobody thought about what kind of hype was created. That hype still exists today.
Starting of with a mixture of Dixieland and Chicago Jazz, a new, danceable, freshmusic style developed, embedding entertainment and art into the sound. New dance styles like the Charleston or the Lindy Hop developed and new music formations were found; this was the birth of Bigband.
Before, bands consisted of 4 to 8 members, while the classic Big band formation consisted of a band leader and 17 musicians. Using trumpets, trombones, clarinetist, flutes, pianos, bass, drums and percussion allowed the band to rearrange and recreate existing styles, providing almost infinite new variations of music on stage, while talented dancers presented their latest moves to the hot new beat.
Up to thesedays an ever bigger network of melodies and rhythms developed, the only difference is that nowadays we don’t need to rely on a 17 pieceband to create Electro Swing, just a few electronic devices like synthesizers, groove boxes, a sampler and PC with a few plug-ins.
Onethings for sure, it doesn’t matter if it’s computer generated or classic style, we can still profit from the incredible work and creativity of these artists for years.
Remarkably, the popularity, the feeling and the expressiveness has not lost any significance. Old School Swing or Electro Swing stand for freedom of music and dance. The lifestyle this sound is bringing doesn’t want intolerance or racism, origin or religion doesn’t matter. Everybody can listen to this music, create it, dance to it or simply enjoy it.
Enjoy this video called “Al Minns and Leon James on DuPont Show of the Week”
