Our Lindy 3 and 4 teachers this block are a rotating cast of teachers from the Amsterdam-based collective The BackBeat. Just like two years ago when we had Julia and Peter (also sometimes known as DJ Syncopeter) they will share an album of the week (approximately) every week by artists they care about, including some historical context and fun trivia. This made us really enthusiastic about learning more about the cultural background and music, so we thought we’d share the love by putting all of them on our website.
This week’s album pick is Swing Gold Collection (Metronome / Esquire All-Stars), a modern compilation that packages some of the most exciting “all-star” swing recordings of the 1930s–40s
Listen to the album on Spotify
Listen to the album on YouTube
Every now and then, the right people end up in the same room at the same time. This week’s album is about exactly that.
These weren’t regular working bands: they were one-off supergroups assembled from major magazine polls in the golden era of jazz. Metronome magazine famously brought its readers’ favorite players into the studio to record carefully arranged tracks, with the explicit aim of supporting musicians through relief/benefit initiatives tied to the project. Esquire magazine ran a closely related concept around its jazz poll, translating the results into star-studded benefit concerts during and after WWII. What makes these recordings so special (and so dance-friendly) is the once-in-a-lifetime chemistry and the tailor-made arrangements you only get when you can put the most in-demand names of the day on one stand.
The charts are built to spotlight personalities, hand off the spotlight efficiently from soloist to soloist, and keep the ensemble crackling behind them the whole time. For example, their iconic version of “One O’Clock Jump” is perhaps one of my favorites, featuring a dream cast including Tommy Dorsey (trombone), Benny Goodman (clarinet), Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax), Count Basie (piano), Charlie Christian (guitar), and more, basically a roll call of swing royalty sharing the same groove.
If you want extra gems in this collection, I’d also recommend “Bugle Call Rag,” “Snafu,” and “Royal Flush”, offering a great variety in tempo, feel, and personality.
Thank you very much for sharing this with us Juan and Esther!
