Re: How do you swing?

Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 15:41:17 -0500
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano
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Personally I define swing as being in the style of the big bands of the late
thirties, forties, and fifties...maybe a little more. At the same time some
soloists and combos were able to capture the swing feeling. But it is a
much narrower style than jazz. There is plenty of jazz which, IMO, does not
swing.
In any case I think you have to learn to do it by hearing it. The best
experience of it is in live performance where you can capture the enthusiasm
and energy of it. Unfortunately that is, more or less, no longer very
common...most of the swingers are either retired or dead. IMO some of the
best swing on records was the Count Basie band.
By the way I dont know if you can capture the feeling of traditional country
music either without hearing somebody perform it who does it "right". And
please dont ask what right is.
TS
"pianoloverus" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
news:email-address-deleted...
> Can some of the jazz pianists on the board explain what it means to
> swing? I've played James P. Johnston's Snowy Morning Blues and
> Carolina Shout where the transcriber says that "swing eighths" are
> "somewhat close" to a triplet(with the second eighth played on the
> third beat of the triplet)but that's all I know about swinging. Do all
> the great jazz pianists swing equally well?