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SWING!: A musical revue of new
and old swing songs. Previews begin Nov. 2; opens Dec. 9. At the St. James Theater,
246 W. 44th St. $20 to $75. (212) 239-6200.
Some cynics have called the swing revival a passing fad. But the creators of the new
Broadway show "Swing!" are banking on the staying power of the craze -- with
good reason.
After all, the revival -- which began in the early Nineties in clubs on the West Coast and
was popularized by the 1996 film "Swingers" and such bands as the Brian Setzer
Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and Royal
Crown Revue -- has been around for nearly a decade.
"Broadway is a logical step; I'm surprised that somebody didn't do it a lot
sooner," says Matt Hong, who plays alto sax in the "Swing!" band.
The musical's producers have assembled a company that includes ace vocalist Ann Hampton
Callaway and 14 dancers choreographed by director Lynne Taylor-Corbett
(the movie "Footloose"). Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks ("Guys and
Dolls") supervises.
"Swing is resurfacing now, not as people remembering it as nostalgia, but as people
discovering it for the first time," says Paul
Kelly, who conceived the show. "This is some of the best music America has produced,
I think. And the dancing is so exuberant."
In addition to the usual roster of Thirties and Forties swing classics ("Sing, Sing,
Sing," "String of Pearls," "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That
Swing"), the musical revue will introduce seven new tunes written by Callaway
and others.
"Swing!" is geared to the neo-swing crowd, with an eight-piece band of
musicians, mostly in their 30s, culled from the top combos that are currently jumping,
jiving, and wailing in metro area clubs.
The streamlined combo (as opposed to a 15-piece big band) will also reflect the rockabilly
and ska influences that have been brought into the mix by the neo-swing bands.
"We're kind of out of the new generation of bands," says Hong, 34, who was
recruited from The Blues Jumpers, a Manhattan-based group that has been dipping into the
Louis Jordan and Louis Prima song books since 1994.
"The scene really started in L.A. in the early Nineties, real underground," adds
Hong. "We didn't really start to see it in New York until late '96, '97."
Hong can still recall the days when The Blues Jumpers were doing their hepcat thing before
audiences that didn't have a clue.
"There were no swing dancers back then; they didn't even try," Hong says.
"If they were dancing, they had too much to drink."
All that's changed now that the music scene has gone jive crazy.
"I think it [the swing revival] has to do with dancing," says the show's
trombonist, Steve Armour, 35, who has played with Lionel Hampton. "My feeling is,
most of the dance music that's available now for young people is so full of overt
sexuality, drug use, and alcohol that a lot of people are turned off by it. Like rave,
that kind of stuff. Swing is much more friendly."
