Swing

Swing is more than just the finger snapping, rhythmic under-pinning of jazz. It has proved to be a highly resilient form of popular music. When "hot" big bands and "sweet" dance bands joined forces in the mid-1930s, the Swing era was born. Such bandleaders as Benny Goodman became teen idols who earned the respect of their fellow musicians with a combination of written charts and improvised solos. Nat "King" Cole led a much-copied piano trio and, along with vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, brought Swing ideals into extremely popular orchestral recordings during the streamlined 1950s and '60s. Jump Blues lived up to its name by being a bluesier offshoot of Swing that featured a more pronounced rhythm. Mastered by Louis Jordan, this good time music led to the R&B and rock music. During the mid-'90s, furlongs of Classic Swing and Jump Blues recordings were reissued and a new generation of Swing Revival bands added a stronger rock beat to the music. Apparently, jazz innovator Duke Ellington's late '30s summation still holds water today: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.""