Let's dance: the democracy of 'swing.'(Column)

From: Commonweal | Date: October 9, 1998| Author: McConnell, Frank | Copyright information

The nation for a brief period between 1935 and 1950 actually believed that it could achieve the 'American Dream' of itself and that it would happen. How much of this that would happen was incarnated in the structure and culture of the great swing bands of the day.

Between 1935--the year of Benny Goodman's first, extraordinary triumph--and 1950--when Dizzy Gillespie decided to hang it up with his first, legendary big band--something unique happened: America became, for a while, ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

NOTES AND TONES Big-band sounds going strong with ton of talent
Columbia Daily Tribune ; I have always been perplexed by the term "big band" - a term so potent in jazz history that it receives the royal treatment in such a way that essentially no other style or period does. We have a "big band era"; we don't have a "small-group era." The question of just how to define what is or what
Quartet is big idea for big-band leader
Chicago Sun-Times ; Bobby Mintzer is an acknowledged leader of the modern big-band jazz movement. His eighth album, "The Art of the Big Band," has just been released; the saxophonist is a leading clinician with high school and college jazz studies programs nationwide. He will be premiering a new work, "A Children's
A big band, but not like that.(Entertainment)(Dave Holland puts a contemporary spin on a musical tradition)
The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) ; Byline: Carolyn Lamberson The Register-Guard The last time jazz icon Dave Holland came to town, he brought his quintet to the Shedd for a 2003 show. This time, Holland's entourage has expanded, from his Grammy-nominated quintet to his Grammy-winning big band. With a new album called Overtime,
Louise joins up with big band
Plymouth Evening Herald, The ; Plymouth's own jazz diva, Louise Parker, teams up once more with the Carlton Big Band at The Matchroom Suite, Plympton this Sunday, January 27, for another feast of live jazz, big band style. The first set starts at 12-30pm, but doors open at 12-00 noon, and live Big Band music runs through to
The genesis of Phil Collins's big band? Simple, he's a drummer
The Boston Globe ; It shouldn't come as a big surprise that pop superstar Phil Collins thought up the idea of leading a 20-piece big band, as he does at Harborlights tonight to close the Boston Globe Jazz & Blues Festival. "I'm a drummer, remember," Collins says on the phone from California, the first stop on a