Swing City Wiseguys

Description

Product Description This is true collectors item from a locally popular band that will never be reunited. The cuts are on fire. A must-have for zoot suiters, toe-tappers, rug-cutters, jumpers, jivers, jitterbuggers, and lindy hoppers. In late summer of 1998 Xavier Q. Lynch and Rob Rimmington, 2 hep-cats who were private lesson instructors at Boca Music Mart in west Boca Raton, Florida in saxophone and bass respectively upon the suggestion of vocalist Troy Stavros decided to form a swing jazz combo dedicated to the foot stompin' era dance music then enjoying a re-birth in popularity. The inspiration came from such acts as the Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and older exponents of the genre like Louie Prima and Wynony Harris. With guitarist, Charles Carey, Mark Turnbull on baritone sax and Dave Kroll on drums the band's edgy bluesy sound crystalized. The band was immediately well-received and booked regularly in local clubs in the south Florida area. (from the Swing Shift Review)- 'Sloppy Joes in Boca has a swing night every tuesday with the new local band, 'The Swing City Wiseguys' going on at 9:00. Troy and the rest of the wise guys rock the joint with some great covers!They don't have real wood but clear some space for dancing which is fine by this little birdy! - The Swing City Wise Guys embarked on this CD project to satisfy the demand of their loyal followers, fans and well-wishers. In the fall of '98 the band was featured in an NBC 6 local (Miami)news spot on the recent popularity and resurgence of swing and jitterbug dancing (which of course never faded in some select circles). The legendary and still agile inventor of the Lindy Hop, Frankie Manning was known to have displayed his imitable prowess cutting the rug at many of the band's appearances. Troy Stavros, vocalist on all tracks and Rob Rimmington, upwright bass, collaborated and contributed 3 original cuts, "Big Long Lincoln", "Give Her the Gate", and "Dizzy with that Dame", to the CD with lyrics by Mr. Stavros and music by Mr. Rimmington which emoted several humorous situations in their lives at the time. This, of course, was in keeping with the double entendre characteristic of many of the genre's songs. A nod to bebop innovator, Thelonius Monk, in Mr. Lynch's arrangement of "Well You Needn't" gives the dexterity of the two-man saxophone "section" a workout over Mr. Kroll hard driving Art Blakely style swinging backbeat. Mr. Lynch's recreation of the tenor solo on 'Oh Babe' adds authenticity to the blues tinged swing era music. Baritone saxist, Mark Turnbull takes a gutsy chorus on Voodoo Woman Blues followed by Mr. Lynch's forward-looking tenor sax solo. Arranging credits go to Mr. Carey and Mr. Lynch respectively for their efforts on the Ellington classic "It don't mean a thing" and Lester Young's "Jumping with Symphony Sid" both of which showoff Mr Stavros' gritty, greasy after midnight-swaggering voice. Shortly after the completion of the CD however, the band broke up. Mainly due to concurrently running commitments to regional theater orchestras, Mr. Lynch, who was also doing '1940s Radio Hour', and Mr. Kroll were unable to continue their tenure as wise guys of the Swing City. Mr. Rimmington, too, always in demand in the studio, had to vacate the "city". Fortunately for the fans left behind, jitterbugging endlessly across the floors of dance clubs from Jupiter to Pompano, this CD remains as a document to the brief but exciting mini-reign of a bunch of guys with some rug-cutting music, some foot-stomping rythyms and a whole lot of neo-swing attitude for anyone and everyone disposed to hip shaking, toe-tapping, jumpin' and jivin'. Review "Sloppy Joes in Boca has a swing night every Tuesday with the new local band, 'The Swing City Wiseguys' going on at 9:00. Troy and the rest of the wise guys rock the joint with some great covers!They don't have real wood but clear some space for dancing which is fine by this little birdy --the Swing Review - 1999