Reading up a bit on the history of swing music at Wikipedia, it apparently developed out of 1920s & '30s jazz. "The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat." Not being a musician, I don't really know what that means, but I have been called off-beat before, so I've got that going for me.
Wikipedia explains the "off-beat" like this:
In typical Western music 4/4 time, counted as "1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4...", the first beat of the bar (downbeat) is usually the strongest accent in the melody and the likeliest place for a chord change, the third is the next strongest: these are "on" beats. The second and fourth are weaker—the "off-beats". Subdivisions (like eighth notes) that fall between the pulse beats are even weaker and these, if used frequently in a rhythm, can also make it "off-beat".
There are sound samples there if you want to hear the difference.
Anyway, the French Romani jazz musician Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910-1953) picked this up and developed what is called gypsy jazz or gypsy swing. His band was called the Quintette du Hot Club de France, so some call his style hot club.
Here's one of his famous swing pieces.
Some current gypsy swing / gypsy jazz musicians give me the sense that the style has really kept to its jazz roots.
Finally, here's a volume of Django's Sultan of Swing album to brighten up the evening.
5 comments:
I found it amusing that a French group would have a bassist wearing a western shirt and a cowboy hat.
Connie Evingson- what a find. I found her vocal of Love Me or Leave Me to be superior to that of Nina Simone's version from the Ed Sullivan show, but Nina's playing Love Me or Leave Me with a Bach fugue improvisation indicates Simone's depth.
Without being able to explain it, I perceived a touch of tango in Connie Evingson's Nature Boy version. When I put "Connie Evingson tango" into a search engine, I got "When I'm 64 tango version" back.
The Django recordings feature Stephane Grappelli on violin. I saw Stephane Grappelli in concert in the early '90s. He would have been 83 or so at the time. It was an honor to witness a master like Grappelli perform live. He hadn't lost a beat, as far as I could tell.
Thomas, this is wonderful Music.
Often I listen to a radio station on pandora that is called "Harmonious wail"
Give it a try. Their is one song called "Dark Eyes" from the album " Gypsy Swing"
https://harmoniouswail.com/product/gypsy-swing-cd/
Greg
The sample you posted actually has beats 1 and 3 as the stronger ones; they are not on 2 & 4. If you want 2, 4 dominant, go to Benny Goodman's "In the Mood".
Rock music has the 2, 4 strong beats (Back-beat). Back-beat is generally acknowledged as sensual, which is why it draws fairly strong criticism from musicians who are classically trained. That's no different from 'blues,' which are also back-beat.
There's a reason for the old adage "Sex, Drugs, and Rock'n'Roll."
Do you mean the first song, "Minor Swing" by Django Reinhardt?
That one's rhythm is complex enough that I don't really know how to analyze it. (Again, I'm not a musician, nor do I play one on TV.)
I'll try 'In the Mood,' though I posted four individual songs above that are all influenced by swing, so it would seem at least one of them would have that 'off-beat' rhythm.
At some point, I'll have to just sit and listen to on-beat & off-beat tunes back to back until I can hear it naturally, I think.
Yes to "first song."
Want back-beat? Play "Midnight Hour" or "Dance to the Music" or "California Girls".
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