American swing played with bravado by leading Polish jazzman Stanislaw Soyka and the Roger Berg Big Band. In their rendition, recorded at sessions in Malmö and Warsaw, the artists refreshed jazz standards by Duke Ellington and Ray Charles among others.
Swing Revisited is an album by Stanislaw Soyka, a noted Polish jazz singer, and the Roger Berg Big Band, a Swedish-Danish constellation. Their collaboration stemmed from a spontaneous jam session at the band's first Warsaw concert. ”I was just overwhelmed by how sensitively they were playing” Soyka recalls. “I couldn't help it and joined in for three pieces. It was fabulous”.
The album, an unparalleled amalgam of different energies, is a foray into the golden era of swing. Recorded in studios in Sweden and Poland, it is not just another forced updating of classical American songs of the 40s. Swing Revisited was recorded along the best „orthodox” lines and with true respect for the swing traditions in order to evoke the old-time masters, because – as the artists emphasize—“you cannot improve on Duke Ellington's music, you just need to live it your way”.
As Soyka says, “This music has been out of radio stations, dance clubs and concert halls for over 40 years. The big band culture evolved. Orchestras sprang up: Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Gil Evans, Carla Bley and others, which enriched the music so much... at the same time overshadowing the artists from the first half of the century, but… when I played these recordings for some young people who had never heard this kind of music before, their faces were radiant and somewhat amazed. It seems that this kind of music still gives the listener a good vibe”.
Swing Revisited is an album by Stanislaw Soyka, a noted Polish jazz singer, and the Roger Berg Big Band, a Swedish-Danish constellation. Their collaboration stemmed from a spontaneous jam session at the band's first Warsaw concert. ”I was just overwhelmed by how sensitively they were playing” Soyka recalls. “I couldn't help it and joined in for three pieces. It was fabulous”.
The album, an unparalleled amalgam of different energies, is a foray into the golden era of swing. Recorded in studios in Sweden and Poland, it is not just another forced updating of classical American songs of the 40s. Swing Revisited was recorded along the best „orthodox” lines and with true respect for the swing traditions in order to evoke the old-time masters, because – as the artists emphasize—“you cannot improve on Duke Ellington's music, you just need to live it your way”.
As Soyka says, “This music has been out of radio stations, dance clubs and concert halls for over 40 years. The big band culture evolved. Orchestras sprang up: Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Gil Evans, Carla Bley and others, which enriched the music so much... at the same time overshadowing the artists from the first half of the century, but… when I played these recordings for some young people who had never heard this kind of music before, their faces were radiant and somewhat amazed. It seems that this kind of music still gives the listener a good vibe”.
