I like the oldies. Back when I hosted a swing radio show, I had a strict limit of two modern tracks per broadcast—the rest was all classic platters. I liked to think that the listeners and I were partaking in history, in some small way, by reveling in the very same recordings which delighted dancers almost a century ago.
But there are solid arguments for seeking out new takes on old tunes, I can’t deny. The sax never sounds as solid on those old 78s, the bass never as beefy. Enter the likes of Brooks Prumo Orchestra, with their latest album This Year’s Kisses. If playing old tunes on the radio is dipping one’s toes in history, then listening to BPO is stepping in a time machine and whizzing straight back to the Savoy, circa 1935.
Brooks and his band aim “to embody a big band dance orchestra of the Swing Era,” in their own words. And boy, do they bounce: “Don’t Be That Way” is one of my all-time favorites, and the Ella/Louis version would be tough to top. Versatile vocalist Alice Spencer doesn’t try, leaving the band to beat out a brilliant instrumental which is at once more lively than the old vocal version and less hurried than the Benny Goodman one. I can definitely see myself deejaying it, when dance halls reopen.
This is one dance-friendly collection, in fact, boasting a broad range of tempos and suitably short arrangements—“Jeep’s Blues” is the long
