Swingandbeyond.com Website Review

Welcome to SWING & BEYOND, the blog that is dedicated to that thing called SWING. Swing as a noun has come to mean the vital and exciting mixture of clas*ic jazz and American Popular Song. As a verb, it means to make music in a manner that causes feet to pat and fingers to snap. This blog will showcase the music, history, and images of the swing era (roughly 1935-1950). It will also include material from from years both before and after the swing era, because Swing is a rich musical tradition that endures to this day. Here you will be able to listen to and learn about some of the greatest music in the swing idiom, and in other comp atible musical idioms. Your guide will be jazz historian and author MICHAEL P. ZIRPOLO. His commentary will accompany whatever is posted, and it will inform and stimulate discussion. Once the music and Mike’s commentary have been posted, the forum will be opened to your comments, questions, and insights. The objective of this blog is to share the music, history, and images in the swing idiom, and seek a de*per, richer understanding and appreciation of what swing is, and why it is so great. On this website Swing is King! SWING 101: which will introduce people to the music, musicians, and singers of the swing era, and lay the foundation for more MASTERPIECES: which will include clas*ic performances generally recognized over the years as quintessential examples of the swing SLEEPERS: which will include marvelous performances that are great examples of swing, but for whatever reason have never or rarely been TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE: which will present swinging music that may or may not be strictly within the swing idiom, but which is so good that SWINGSCAPES: writings about swing by Michael P. Zirpolo and other experts. These writings will provide a context for the music you will be hearing, and allow for a de*per understanding of the music and the people who made it. SPOTLIGHT ON SIDEMEN (AND WOMEN): will recognize the talents of many great musicians who never made names for themselves as leaders, but