Walking Backwards on a New York Street
2003
Polygram Records International
Walking Backwards on a New York Street
2003
Polygram Records International
The Band:
Steve Hess – Keyboard; Ron Grandi – Bass; Ron Mondy – Saxophone;
Lou Bolognia – Guitar; Jerry Beecher - Drums
“While working at the
Swing Clubs & Casino Showrooms throughout the country the band is playing a wide
variety of Swing, Be Bop & Rock ‘n’ Roll music that provides something
‘fun’ for everyone which is born out by the audience reactions everywhere they
play. Steve Hess & Jive Deluxe say,
‘We love to play Swing Music’ to a live audience and invites anyone that sees
the band’s tour bus going through town, to beep their horn, wave, then just follow
the band to the gig for the ‘TIME OF YOUR LIFE’.” – Band Website
As you can tell
by their own admission, this band plays a variety of music but what they love to do is
swing. In their debut CD, you will feel the
flavor of a multitude of different styles, predominately with the Swing rhythm. If I had to pin down the characterization of this
band, I would say they are a jump blues band that flirts with neo-swing and rock music.
Given that,
this CD has some fun, danceable music that I think Swing dancers will like. A couple of my favorites are Okoboji Iowa USA
(142 bpm), a song about a city they visited on tour.
It’s cute and fun with a danceable beat and fun breaks. When I play it, I’m bound to get two
reactions: 1. I’ve been there and I love
this song. 2.
I live there and I hate this song. (Sounds
like you don’t want to live there!) Other
good tunes are Sing Everybody Sing an uptempo jump tune at 179 bpm, Jitterbug
Baby, a fast 207 bpm and Hit Parade which clocks in at 185 bpm. These are all tunes that are playful, fast and
make you smile.
The
musicianship is tight. These guys play well
together and there are exceptional sax solos by Mondy.
There’s a reason he’s called “Big Daddy”. When he wails sax, watch out! And watch out for the last song on the CD, We
Could Rock, a rockabilly-ish rock song
that lets the musicians loose. They get this
one cookin’ to 275 bpm and they get to strut their stuff.
My impression
of this CD is that FUN was the key ingredient. You
are going to find mostly (if not all) original music and the band didn’t cover the
popular swing tunes. The energy and
enthusiasm remains high throughout the CD but purists may find that it falls short of
their expectations. If you want to have fun
and you enjoy a wide latitude of music you would categorize as swing, you’ll find
this a pretty darn good buy!
Bottom Line: To buy or not to buy….. Jump Blues and Neo Swingsters BUY! Here’s how: www.jivedeluxe.com