Echoes Of Swing - Blue Pepper (2013)

Can a band of today catch the excitement and fire of the swing era? The quartet Echoes Of Swing has proved this is possible since its formation in 1997. Some bands of the 1920s and 30s adopted trumpet, reed, piano and drums, such as those of Lovie Austin and Willie The Lion Smith, but these were essentially chamber jazz groups. Echoes Of Swing refused to think exclusively on such a small scale. Instead, they found ways to transfer the sounds of much larger forces to a compact tight-knit setting. How do Echoes Of Swing avoid sounding like a repertory band? By adding new music. Not only have they arranged standards old and new, plus some less-well-known songs, but created strongly written original material too. The pressure release valves for big band players were new songs and jam sessions where they had the chance to solo. This band has achieved both with music that s tricky to play but offers the chance to blow freely as well. With 'Blue Pepper' Echoes Of Swing open a new chapter. It s a quantum leap forward from their last award winning album Message From Mars, with even more impressive arrangements, and some outstanding original pieces. The legacy of the swing era is safe in the hands of these fine musicians.

Tracklist:

01. Blue Pepper
02. Azzurro
03. Blue Prelude
04. La Paloma Azul
05. Blue & Naughty
06. Blue Moon
07. Black Stick Blues
08. Blue River
09. Out Of The Blue
10. Aoi Sanmyaku (Blue Mountain Range)
11. The Smurf
12. Blue Gardenia
13. The Blue Medicine / Radovan's Remedy
14. Wild Cat Blues
15. Azure

Personnel:

Colin T. Dawson - trumpet, vocals (3, 8, 12), arrangements (3, 4, 10, 12, 13)
Chris Hopkins - alto sax, arrangements (5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15)
Bernd Lhotzky - piano, celesta (9), arrangements (1, 2, 9, 11)
Oliver Mewes - drums