One of my swing dj colleagues in Uppsala is Jonas Pettersson. I couldn't hear him dj last Wednesday at Zackes Jazz Corner at the dance studio Chicago in Stockholm ( run by The Harlem Hot Shots), so I asked him:
What is your favourite swing song right now?
It's "Mahogany Hall Stomp" by Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five, recorded in New York, March 5, 1929, Okeh #8680.
Can be found on "Armstrong, Louis – The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven
Recordings" [4CD] [Columbia #63527].
Why that particular song?
Because it shows an amazing and very early example of the transition from the two-beat hot jazz of the twenties to the oncoming four-to-the-bar swing of the thirties. Listen to "Potato Head Blues" with Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven on mentioned compilation for an example of "two-beat", same tempo as "Mahogany Hall Stomp", but with tuba and banjo, which gives it a completely different feeling compared to the more fluid swing of the string bass and guitar of "Mahogany Hall Stomp".
What is your favorite swing song right now? Tell me.
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