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Swing It!: An Annotated History of Jive
A guide to jive describes its history and notable performers.
- GenresJazz
Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
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March 3, 2022
"Swing It!: An Annotated History of Jive" takes a much-maligned song style and has a lot of fun with it.
Jive occupies the sweet spot between swing and early rock 'n' roll, which is why it sometimes is dismissed. It's not jazz enough for jazz (sometimes swing gets treated like that too) and it's not rock enough for rock. Sometimes thought of as a novelty or, these days, like mere nostalgia, this music is a powerhouse of fun, rhythm and energy that informed both jazz and rock going forward.
This book is a survey of some of the top acts by era, starting with Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and ending with Brian Setzer and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. In between are Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, Fats Waller and others.
Also included are chapters about some key white and female artists in jive.
This was a bonus book for my February reading, keeping with my theme of music genres. Another Spotify playlist to come!
Jive occupies the sweet spot between swing and early rock 'n' roll, which is why it sometimes is dismissed. It's not jazz enough for jazz (sometimes swing gets treated like that too) and it's not rock enough for rock. Sometimes thought of as a novelty or, these days, like mere nostalgia, this music is a powerhouse of fun, rhythm and energy that informed both jazz and rock going forward.
This book is a survey of some of the top acts by era, starting with Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and ending with Brian Setzer and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. In between are Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, Fats Waller and others.
Also included are chapters about some key white and female artists in jive.
This was a bonus book for my February reading, keeping with my theme of music genres. Another Spotify playlist to come!
Displaying 1 of 1 review