Swing Des Moines Message Board

[Solomon]

I'm very excited to announce the availability of the second CD by my ten-piece orchestra, the Solomon Douglas Swingtet. The CD is called Live at the Legion, and includes 16 songs (more than an hour of music) recorded live at the "Stomp It Off!" dance in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Every song on the album is great for lindy hop, blues, or balboa dancing.

You can hear excerpts from all 16 tracks and order the CD, on my website: http://solomondouglas.com/buy_CD.html . You can also order the t-shirt at http://solomondouglas.com/buy_merchandise.html .

Live at the Legion includes our versions of some old hot jazz from the 20s (Benny Moten's "South", Jelly Roll Morton's "Buffalo Blues", Ellington's "Saturday Night Function", and Bix Beiderbecke's "Singin' the Blues"), some really swinging 30s music (Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm", Basie's "Shorty George"), and lots of great 50s Basie (such as "Splanky", "One O'Clock Jump", and "Two for the Blues").

The band on the new album is an all-star lineup including Vancouver trumpet sensation Bria Skonberg, legendary Seattle drummer D'Vonne Lewis, New York trombone wiz-kid and recording engineer Eric Heveron-Smith, and Portland sax player (and a great bandleader in his own right) Pete Petersen, with me leading the band, playing the piano and writing all the musical arrangements.

The beautiful oil painting on the CD cover and the delightful t-shirt design are by Seattle artist Brecca Smith.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

Solomon