SWING GUITAR, Fred Sokolow. A String Of Pearls -Choo Choo Ch' Boogie -Go Daddy-O -I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me) -In The Mood -It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) -Jersey Bounce -Jump, Jive An' Wail -Just A Gigolo -Route 66 -Sentimental Journey -Since I Don't Have You -Take The 'A' Train -Tuxedo Junction -Zoot Suit Riot. Basi Jam play-along. CD TABLATURE
Series: Guitar Educational
Softcover with CD - TAB
Author: Fred Sokolow
HL00695604
Learn to play swing rhythm and lead guitar in the style of the masters! With this book / CD pack you get: transcriptions of 15 original hit recordings from the classics of the 1930s and '40s to the revival of the '90s; performance notes to help you understand the solos; instruction in comping patterns and chord embellishment; a history of swing guitar; and more. Songs, The accompanying CD includes full-band demos of all the songs, with guitar parts isolated. 80 pages
The Swing Era and the Swing Revival
Swing was America's pop music from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. Some bands (like
Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw) were sweeter and milder, while others (like Benny Goodman and
Count Basie) were hotter and wilder. Some featured hot, improvised solos-the horn players
were the stars-and others strictly read the arrangements. But they all played dance music and
performed for jitterbugging and lindy-hopping couples. In the early 1930s, African-American
bands like those of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Fletcher Henderson launched the swing
era, and predominantly white bands like those of Benny Goodman, the Dorseys, and Harry
James made it a mainstream pop phenomenon.
A typical swing band consisted of a rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, and drums), four or
five saxophones, the same number of trumpets and likewise trombones, and at least one vocalist.
The leader was usually a virtuoso player, and expert arrangers made up intricate charts in
which horn sections often played repetitious, rhythmic riffs in counterpoint to one another.
As World War II ended, the popularity of the big bands waned. (In 1946, eight major big
bands folded!) Smaller, more rhythm 'n' blues-oriented combos like Louis Jordan and the
Tympany Five came on strong to take their place. The new music was still horn- and riff-driven,
but bands emphasized boogie-woogie, a strong backbeat, and simpler, bluesier chord progressions.
It led to rock 'n' roll in less than a decade. If you were a teenager in 1954, swing was the
"square" music your parents liked!
But what goes around comes around, and in the late 1980s a swing revival was bubbling up
all over the U.S. By the early 1990s, most large cities in the country had at least one nightclub
where swing bands played, and dancers dressed in retro styles displayed the steps they had just
learned at the swing-dance lesson that preceded the live band. (In between dances, instead of
holding a cigarette and cocktail, the hoofers had a towel and a bottle of Evian!) Groups like
Squirrel Nut Zippers, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, the Royal Crown Revue, and Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy had hit singles and albums, were featured in major films, and even played at the World
Series halftime show (a sure sign of popular acceptance). Most of these new bands were smaller
than the Dorseys' or Ellington's, and they borrowed as much from Louis Jordan and Louis Prima
as they did from Benny Goodman. But by the turn of the new millennium, the message was unmistakable:
swing was back.
The Role of Guitar in Swing
During the original swing era, guitars were acoustic. Charlie Christian introduced the electric
guitar to big band music in 1939 when he joined Benny Goodman's band, but by the time it
took hold in other bands, the swing era was nearly over. Most players favored arch-top, F-hole
guitars like the Gibson L-5 and the Epiphone Broadway or Emperor. (Epiphone was not owned
by Gibson in those days.) These guitars had no cutaway, and their purpose was to provide fourbeats-
to-the-bar rhythm. Since single-note guitar solos could hardly be heard above a horn section,
chords-rather than hot licks-were the guitarist's main tools. The steady chunk-chunkchunk
of the guitar kept the rhythm section flowing.
Often, when swing guitarists "comp" (play chord backup to a vocalist or soloist), theyembellish
the basic chord progression. Going beyond chord ornamentation (e.g. playing a G9 instead
of a G7), they improvise whole progressions that are not found on sheet music, to make
the music hip (or "hep," as they said during the swing era). So in order to comp in the authentic
swing style, the guitarist who is unschooled in jazz needs some hip ness (hepness?) lessons!
Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Louis Jordan and The Tympany Five, 1946
Go Daddy-O - Big Bad Wodoo Daddy, 1995
I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me) - Spencer Williams, 1956
In The Mood - Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1939
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Duke Ellington - Sophisticated Ladies, 1932
Jersey Bounce - Benny Goodman, 1942
Jump, Jive An' Wail - Brian Setzer Orchestra - Louis Prima, (1956) 1998
Just A Gigolo - Leonello Casucci, 1930
Route 66 - Nat Cole Trio, 1946
Sentimental Journey - Les Brown and his Orchestra, 1943
Since I Don't Have You - Brian Setzer Orchesta, (1959) 1988
A String Of Pearls - Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1942
Take The 'A' Train - Duke Ellington - Billy Strayhorn - 1941
Tuxedo Junction - Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1940
Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin' Daddies - 1997 - Steve Perry
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