This Saturday was my school's art festival at a local art center. This meant I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 7 A.M. on a Saturday morning after an exhausting week of school to get to the place by 9:30, and then wait to play until 11:15. I went on with both the jazz band and jazz combo, and I actually had a pretty great time. In jazz band we played "Pescados Frescos" by Armando Rivera and "Easin Along" by someone who's name I forget, and in jazz combo we played "Blues A La Mode", "Corcovado", and "Scrapple from the Apple".
Sadly I had to cut out before the theatre performances to make it to my other jazz ensemble practice, but the result of a day of all-around jazziness was that I was left in a particularly jazzy mood. I made my way to the record shop and spent awhile browsing around before purchasing five albums:
"April In Paris" by Count Basie and His Orchestra
"The Complete Glenn Miller"
"The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts"
"Sergio Mendes"
I got a little shock with this one; I expected it to be quiet latin piano music, and then the cheesy love songs from every eighties movie in existence started playing. I'm so incredibly okay with this.
Amy Winehouse was my childhood. Her jazzy vocals could always be heard echoing through our house growing up, and without even trying I memorized all the lyrics to every single song on Back To Black. I can even remember jumping on the indoor trampoline while watching one of her live performances.
But somewhere along the road I stopped listening to her, and I recently re-discovered her songs, along with my love for them. She had one of the most amazing and unique voices I have ever heard in a singer, and I love the bluesy vibes in her music. It speaks to me, and my memories, and I hope that people will continue to enjoy Amy's music long after she passed away.
Stronger Than Me
This is my favorite at the moment. It has a really cool vibe with the guitar chords in the background, and I love the scat part at the beginning.
You Know I'm No Good
My all time favorite.
The Girl From Ipanema
I love her take on this classic tune; her voice fits it surprisingly well.
Fuck Me Pumps
One of her simpler songs, but I think it's really honest and I love the lyrics.
Hey Little Rich Girl
*Happy Vibes* Also who wouldn't want to be those two guys off to the side just havin' a ball? I'm thinking future career...
Rehab
I mean, I pretty much had to include this one. It's CLASSIC.
A little tidbit about myself; I play the alto saxophone religiously. Therefore I listen quite a bit to jazz, bebop, blues, bossanova, and my favorite: swing. That's why I shed a few joyous tears when I discovered Electro Swing. It's a legitimately perfect genre of music concocted from swing tunes and styles, played with big band instruments, and club beats as well as synthesized sounds. I seriously haven't been able to pry the headphones off my ears ever since I found this music.
Bambous by Caravan Palace
I picked this song first because it was the first electro swing song I fell in love with. In case you don't like nonsensical rabies-infused vocals I'm pretty sure this is the only song I've found that features them, so don't be quick to write off this genre. In any case, Caravan Palace has officially been crowned my favorite band. They're from Paris, and have a few albums out, and the more I listen to their music the more I like it.
Je M'Amuse by Caravan Palace
This song is my current favorite. The melody is very Parisian sounding, which I like, and the way they mix it up with the heavy synthetic bass sounds provides an interesting contrast that still works perfectly.
Brotherswing by Caravan Palace
The Dirty Side of The Street by Caravan Palace
Okay I'm dancing.
Jimmy's Gang by Parov Stelar
I'm pretty sure Parov Stelar is the most famous electro swing composer. Something he does more than Caravan Palace is focus on club beats, and I'm pretty sure he has more instrumental riffs. IN CASE ANYONE HAS SPENT THEIR ENTIRE EXISTENCE LOOKING FOR THAT SONG FROM THE BING RESTAURANT COMMERCIAL THIS IS IT I FOUND IT. Am I the only one that does that? I hear a song in the background of something and then I dedicate my life to finding it. In any case I spent a whole morning looking for this one. It was infuriating.
Catgroove by Parov Stelar
I picked this one up from my brother, and although I strongly disagree with most of his music choices I very much approve of this one.
Bad Boy Good Man by Tape Five
Tango For a Spy by Tape Five
Cool Cat In Town by Tape Five
Rum'n'Cocacola by Tim Tim
This is one of those songs that makes life seem happy and perfect and relaxed while you're listening to it. It describes itself as electro swing, but it comes across as a little bit reggae to me, which creates a very unique sound.
That Swing by Soul Square
These are only some of my favorites, but I'm still discovering the genre. If you like the above, I recommend making a Pandora station for either Caravan Palace or Parov Stelar(That's how I found most of these.)
