Swing or Nothing!

Rowland Bernard “Bunny” Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the Swing Era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33. He played with several notable big bands include those led by the Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. His solo on the Dorsey hit “Marie” became considered one of his signature performances. Berigan got the itch to lead his own band full-time and did so for about three years. Some of their records were equal in standard to the sides he cut with Goodman and Dorsey, but unfortunately they were never financially successful.

Fortunately for us, Bunny Berigan’s recordings still survive, and you can pick up some great tracks at Amazon.com mp3 downloads including some of my personal favorites off the Gangbusters album:

• Walking the Dog
• Button, Button
• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
• Organ Grinder’s Swing

If you have any recordings of Benny Goodman in your own collection, I encourage you to listen to both of these artists back-to-back and notice some of the similarities in their musical styles.

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Believe it or not, I was initially unimpressed by Duke Ellington when I first started collecting swing music; since then, I’ve learned the error of my ways. The Duke had such a long music career that spanned decades and many genres of jazz music, that, well, some of his music actually isn’t swing dance music…it’s Hot Jazz, Be-Bop or something else. But the stuff that swings…swings hard.

Edward “Duke” Ellington was an American pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He started playing music in Washington, D.C. in 1917. Influences on his piano style included stride pianists like James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith. In 1923 he and some of his band mates moved to New York City and started playing as “the Washingtonians,” with Ellington eventually assuming leadership of the band. Although Ellington made several recordings and played clubs around Manhattan, it wasn’t until the Ellington Orchestra took a spot as the house band at the Cotton Club, with regular radio broadcasts of their performances, that the Duke achieved a solid claim to fame and became an American household name. Duke’s band was one of the few that successfully made the transition from the Hot Jazz of the 1920s to the swing of the 1930s, and his band grew in popularity and stature through the 40s and 50s.  Duke Ellington died from cancer in 1974.

Never No Lament

Recommended individual tracks:

• Jack The Bear (1999 Remastered)
• Cotton Tail (1999 Remastered)
• Cotton Tail (1999 Remastered)
• In a Mellotone (1999 Remastered)
• Five O’Clock Whistle (1999 Remastered)
• Five O’Clock Whistle (1999 Remastered)
• Perdido (1999 Remastered – Take 1)
• The
• Main Stem (1999 Remastered)
• Hayfoot, Strawfoot (1999 Remastered – Take 1)

The Duke Box

Recommended individual tracks:

• The Gal From Joe’s
• C Jam Blues

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