8/4/2009 Dig Up The Roots

This show centered on Swing jazz, which some view as the death of jazz, some the beginning. Slick, polished and arranged, the maturation of Americas problem child.

We tried to focus on lesser known groups and artists - sidemen, also-rans and some old favorites like Mildred Bailey, Slam Stewart and Mary Osborne. A large amount of this material came from a set of old cassettes (little or no info except names) that were given to me by one of those collectors that greatly impressed me as a youngster. Not only the music, but the names of the tunes, the sheer energy involved and the questioning of who are/were these people.