Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators is one of the most unique and amazing ensembles to come across my desk since I started this blog.
What is so amazing about it you ask? One word…
Authenticity.
This is a swing era band from Seattle, Washington that focuses on one thing: Authentic American Jazz from Prohibition Through the Swing Era. For short, you can also refer to it as authentic pre-World War II jazz.
From the moment the first song started playing, I felt like I had entered a time warp and landed in the 1920s. The engineer inside of me was fascinated by the Prohibition quality of the recordings. Either these guys traveled to 2012 from the past OR someone has a stash of functioning recording gear from that era.
Regardless of how the authentic sound is accomplished, Glenn Crytzer has some geniuses working behind the board. These guys know their Swing Era Jazz and they know it damn well.
Skinny Minne was recorded live over two nights during the Midwest Lindy Fest in Minneapolis. This is the 2nd album from the Syncopators. Songs include a few original tunes but also swing era standards from the likes of Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Illinois Jacquet, and Sidney Bechet.
The recording features performances from Steve Mostovoy (trumpet), Evan Arntzen (clarinet and tenor sax), Solomon Douglas (piano), Glenn Crytzer (guitar), Steve Pikal (bass), Mike Daugherty (drums) and features a guest appearance by vocalist Meschiya Lake (2011 and 2012 Big Easy Music Awards female performer of the year).
I highly suggest grabbing a copy of this album.
The Syncopators are currently touring across the US playing at festivals, concerts, and dances. Speaking of dance…
Did you know there are tens of thousands of dancers across the world involved in an underground vintage american dance revival? Have you ever heard of lindy hop?
The video below are some dancers getting down to Glenn and his Syncopators at Lindy Focus 2010.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKoKctlEU0A
I have found several variations of lindy hop’s history, but here is one of the better descriptions:
via LindyCircle.com
The Lindy Hop (or Lindy) is a partner dance that originated in 1920’s and 30’s Harlem, New York. The Dance itself consists of both 8 and 6 count steps and it includes footwork borrowed from the Charleston and Tap.
The dance can be wild and spontaneous, with frenzied kicks and body movements, or it can be cool and sophisticated. The most important aspects of it are that it is danced with your partner, to the music, and that you enjoy it!
The Lindy Hop is considered a cultural phenomenon that broke through the race barrier when segregation was still the norm. Modern dancers, interested in cultural history are piecing together the roots of Lindy through the tales and film footage of the original dancers, now in their 70s and 80s. Although the lineage and history of Lindy may be muddled, it is certain that it was born from the blending of African rhythms and movements with European structured dance.
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