Discovering new music to add to your collection is a fun process and there are lots of ways of going about it. You might have read that last month I told you about the old swing CDs I discovered at my parent’s house? Well, checking out your current CD and MP3 collection is the best place to start. I can guarantee that you’ll come across some swing tunes that you never knew you had! Friends are a great source of tips and suggestions. I’ve got a mate in Germany who gives me good tips, as do several of my UK friends. Its fun sharing ideas with others, especially if they don’t dance on the same scene as you as they’ll have plenty of new tunes for you. My last tip for finding new music is Lastfm.com. Its simple: pick an artist you like, lets say “Ella Fitzgerald” and it’ll start by live-streaming one of her tunes and will then introduce you to a raft of related artists. Enjoy! March’s top 5 toe tapping toons …

1) “Smooth Sailin’ – Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald: legend. “Smooth Sailin’” is a familiar song on the scene, and a good’un. Its gentle, smooth (well, you kind of get that from the title don’t you) and a fine example of Ella’s talent at scatting – there aren’t any real words in there, all boo be doos etc.. But hey, who needs words!

2) “Let the Good Times Roll” – Kansas City Stompers

The Kansas City Stompers are a Danish band, who’ve apparently been on the scene for 50 years. Wow. They have spent a fair amount of time in the US getting into the New Orleans groove. And the result is sublime. Vocals are by a gal called Sanne Salomonsen.

3) “Goody Goody” – Della Reese

Della’s powerful vocals beckon you to the floor, where with this song you can have fun with some fantastic breaks. Della started singing aged 6 in her local gospel choir in Detroit. Inspired by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday she turned to jazz and joined the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra in 1953. In the 1950s and 1960s Della appeared in many TV shows and was the first black woman to host her own talk show. She’s still singing today and is an ordained minister.

4) “Junco Partner” – Louis Jordon

Every now and again you’ll hear a Latin tune sneak into a swing set. This is a good example of one. It has that Latin feel, but beneath you’ll find a rhythm that you can swing to. Louis started his musical career in the 1930s playing big band swing as a saxophonist for bands such as the Savoy Ballroom Orchestra led by Chick Webb. He later became on the leading practitioners of “jump blues”. Apparently he was married 5 times.

5) “I Love Being Here With You” – Barbara Morrison

I had never heard of Barbara Morrison until a few weeks ago in Bristol, but my word, this woman has a pair of lungs… She started performing aged 10 on her local radio station in Detroit and has still touring today. She sings a range of genres from blues to jazz from gospel to pop and has performed with greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles and Etta James.

Happy listening. And if you have any feedback, or want to share some tunes then leave a comment in the box.

Hannah (AKA Mistress Groove)

Read Hannah’s top 5 for January and February.

Share