For general enlightenment -
The Music of the 1930s Is Back in Full Swing
By NAT HENTOFF
August 2, 2006; Page D10
Having discovered jazz in the late 1930s, I was on time for the big bands I heard on the radio from ballrooms and nightclubs around the country. I was lifted out of the Depression by the soaring reeds and strutting brass; the romantic fantasies that were an obbligato of the ballads; the verve and wit of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey; and even the playfulness of the "sweet bands" (Russ Morgan, Sammy Kaye, Kay Kyser).
There have been attempts to bring back the swing era, including touring "ghost bands" playing the scores of deceased leaders of the past, but I thought that only those of us who had actually been part of those swinging times would ever know what it felt like to ride those rhythm waves.
But now it is possible for those born after the swing era to be in the actual presence of a 15-piece band, the Sultans of Swing, that not only keeps the joy of that heritage alive but has also absorbed much of the spirit and language of the jazz that came after.
The band is the creation of David Berger, 57, a widely experienced composer, arranger and teacher; recipient of seven National Endowment of the Arts fellowships in jazz composition; and transcriber of more than 50 works by Duke Ellington. (Knowing that Duke's compositions were in a constant state of becoming, I never thought that achievement was possible.)
The Sultans of Swing came into being in 1996 to fulfill a deeply felt mission of Mr. Berger: "Over the past 70 years most people have forgotten the feeling of swing, if they are old enough to have known it at all. Still this music infects those who are lucky enough to be exposed to it. In those moments we feel fully alive."
This is a hardworking band, having played many gigs in this country as well as three European tours, residencies in schools, and -- like bands in the old glory days -- weddings and private parties. As Ellington did, Mr. Berger writes for the individual musicians, who range in age from 20 to 60. At least half have been students of his; he now teaches at Juilliard and has held posts at the Manhattan School of Music, William Paterson College, Long Island University and Montclair State College.
Recently released is the Sultans' fourth CD, "Hindustan" (on the Such Sweet Thunder label and available at sultansofswing.com, amazon.com and in record stores). From the first few bars, I was a kid again, marveling at how much fun it must be to be in a band that swings so naturally -- the crisp soloists interweaving seamlessly with the sections.
Composer-arranger Berger is a master of dynamics; a subtle, continually surprising colorist; and he lets the music breathe. "Hindustan" was recorded during a 2005 tour of Sweden. "Every time we go on tour," Mr. Berger says in the notes, "the music improves daily. After a few days, we surpass the highest level we ever achieved as a band. By the end of the tour we are all on a high that doesn't require artificial stimulants. I've always wanted to capture our peak moments on a recording. Well, here it is!"
Sonically, what makes "Hindustan" historic is how close it really does get to the live sound of the band. As Mr. Berger told me, there were no headphones on members of the band, allowing the players to fully hear one another, and it was mixed, he adds, "with absolutely no compression, so that what you hear on this CD is as close to a live performance as ever captured on any CD." The absence of compression meant that the full dynamic range of the music is heard -- including the extreme highs and lows. (If only I had had such an engineer in my brief time as a jazz record producer.)
This band's musical range is captured on "Hindustan" -- from "Monkey Business," a tribute to Thelonious Monk, to a revitalized "Poor Butterfly" in which, Mr. Berger notes, "Mark Hynes keeps the Coleman Hawkins tradition alive, Ryan Keberle tests the limits of the trombone, and there's the swinging lead trumpet of Bob Millikan, who has a way of putting every note in the slot so the whole band can play together as one."
On a previous CD, "The Harlem Nutcracker," Mr. Berger challenged himself by adding to how Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn had reimagined "The Nutcracker Suite." "The challenge," says Mr. Berger, "was to remain myself and not be intimidated by either of them -- or by Tchaikovsky." Also contagiously evident is how much fun the sidemen had in not being intimidated by any of the four composers. This "Nutcracker," taking place on Christmas Eve in Harlem, has so much good cheer that the music can barely stay in these grooves without exploding.
When I feel very sad or very good, tears come to my eyes. Listening again, as I write this, to the Sultans' fusion of centuries and cultures in the "Nutcracker," I've had to stop to wipe the tears of pleasure away. I am grateful to David Berger for enabling me to be 13 years old again -- hiding the radio in my room, where I was supposed to be asleep, and tuning in across the fruited plains to this wondrously indigenous American music.
("The Harlem Nutcracker" and other previous Sultans CDs, "Doin' the Do" and "Marlowe," are also available on sultansofswing.com and amazon.com.)
The late jazz critic George Simon was already writing in the past tense in his 1967 book about his specialty, "The Big Bands": "Do you remember what it was like? Maybe you do. Maybe you were there. Maybe you were there in New York two-thirds of the way through the 1930's, when there were so many great bands playing -- so many of them at the same time. You could choose your spots -- so many spots."
But now until the end of October, in New York, you can choose to hear the Sultans of Swing, who began a Tuesday night residency -- appropriately on July 4 -- at Birdland, 315 West 44th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues. (For reservations and information, 212-581-3080.)
"Here," says Mr. Berger, "you can hear swinging acoustic big-band jazz in an intimate club -- the way the music was designed to be experienced -- where the band and the audience can feel each other breathe to the rhythms and inflections of American life."
Mr. Hentoff writes about jazz for the Journal.
The Music of the 1930s Is Back in Full Swing
By NAT HENTOFF
August 2, 2006; Page D10
Having discovered jazz in the late 1930s, I was on time for the big bands I heard on the radio from ballrooms and nightclubs around the country. I was lifted out of the Depression by the soaring reeds and strutting brass; the romantic fantasies that were an obbligato of the ballads; the verve and wit of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey; and even the playfulness of the "sweet bands" (Russ Morgan, Sammy Kaye, Kay Kyser).
There have been attempts to bring back the swing era, including touring "ghost bands" playing the scores of deceased leaders of the past, but I thought that only those of us who had actually been part of those swinging times would ever know what it felt like to ride those rhythm waves.
But now it is possible for those born after the swing era to be in the actual presence of a 15-piece band, the Sultans of Swing, that not only keeps the joy of that heritage alive but has also absorbed much of the spirit and language of the jazz that came after.
The band is the creation of David Berger, 57, a widely experienced composer, arranger and teacher; recipient of seven National Endowment of the Arts fellowships in jazz composition; and transcriber of more than 50 works by Duke Ellington. (Knowing that Duke's compositions were in a constant state of becoming, I never thought that achievement was possible.)
The Sultans of Swing came into being in 1996 to fulfill a deeply felt mission of Mr. Berger: "Over the past 70 years most people have forgotten the feeling of swing, if they are old enough to have known it at all. Still this music infects those who are lucky enough to be exposed to it. In those moments we feel fully alive."
This is a hardworking band, having played many gigs in this country as well as three European tours, residencies in schools, and -- like bands in the old glory days -- weddings and private parties. As Ellington did, Mr. Berger writes for the individual musicians, who range in age from 20 to 60. At least half have been students of his; he now teaches at Juilliard and has held posts at the Manhattan School of Music, William Paterson College, Long Island University and Montclair State College.
Recently released is the Sultans' fourth CD, "Hindustan" (on the Such Sweet Thunder label and available at sultansofswing.com, amazon.com and in record stores). From the first few bars, I was a kid again, marveling at how much fun it must be to be in a band that swings so naturally -- the crisp soloists interweaving seamlessly with the sections.
Composer-arranger Berger is a master of dynamics; a subtle, continually surprising colorist; and he lets the music breathe. "Hindustan" was recorded during a 2005 tour of Sweden. "Every time we go on tour," Mr. Berger says in the notes, "the music improves daily. After a few days, we surpass the highest level we ever achieved as a band. By the end of the tour we are all on a high that doesn't require artificial stimulants. I've always wanted to capture our peak moments on a recording. Well, here it is!"
Sonically, what makes "Hindustan" historic is how close it really does get to the live sound of the band. As Mr. Berger told me, there were no headphones on members of the band, allowing the players to fully hear one another, and it was mixed, he adds, "with absolutely no compression, so that what you hear on this CD is as close to a live performance as ever captured on any CD." The absence of compression meant that the full dynamic range of the music is heard -- including the extreme highs and lows. (If only I had had such an engineer in my brief time as a jazz record producer.)
This band's musical range is captured on "Hindustan" -- from "Monkey Business," a tribute to Thelonious Monk, to a revitalized "Poor Butterfly" in which, Mr. Berger notes, "Mark Hynes keeps the Coleman Hawkins tradition alive, Ryan Keberle tests the limits of the trombone, and there's the swinging lead trumpet of Bob Millikan, who has a way of putting every note in the slot so the whole band can play together as one."
On a previous CD, "The Harlem Nutcracker," Mr. Berger challenged himself by adding to how Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn had reimagined "The Nutcracker Suite." "The challenge," says Mr. Berger, "was to remain myself and not be intimidated by either of them -- or by Tchaikovsky." Also contagiously evident is how much fun the sidemen had in not being intimidated by any of the four composers. This "Nutcracker," taking place on Christmas Eve in Harlem, has so much good cheer that the music can barely stay in these grooves without exploding.
When I feel very sad or very good, tears come to my eyes. Listening again, as I write this, to the Sultans' fusion of centuries and cultures in the "Nutcracker," I've had to stop to wipe the tears of pleasure away. I am grateful to David Berger for enabling me to be 13 years old again -- hiding the radio in my room, where I was supposed to be asleep, and tuning in across the fruited plains to this wondrously indigenous American music.
("The Harlem Nutcracker" and other previous Sultans CDs, "Doin' the Do" and "Marlowe," are also available on sultansofswing.com and amazon.com.)
The late jazz critic George Simon was already writing in the past tense in his 1967 book about his specialty, "The Big Bands": "Do you remember what it was like? Maybe you do. Maybe you were there. Maybe you were there in New York two-thirds of the way through the 1930's, when there were so many great bands playing -- so many of them at the same time. You could choose your spots -- so many spots."
But now until the end of October, in New York, you can choose to hear the Sultans of Swing, who began a Tuesday night residency -- appropriately on July 4 -- at Birdland, 315 West 44th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues. (For reservations and information, 212-581-3080.)
"Here," says Mr. Berger, "you can hear swinging acoustic big-band jazz in an intimate club -- the way the music was designed to be experienced -- where the band and the audience can feel each other breathe to the rhythms and inflections of American life."
Mr. Hentoff writes about jazz for the Journal.
