Carolina Reapers Swing • Built Different

When it comes to dancing, I don’t get around much any more. I had the option of going out last weekend, but I opted to stay in and watch a movie instead. Honestly, it’s like the lockdown—throughout which I bemoaned the prohibition of public partner dancing and what it was doing to my social life—never even happened…

If I’d listened to the latest album by Carolina Reapers Swing instead of watching telly, I might have been prompted to get off my couch and go Lindy hopping after all. For, Built Different is a dancing disc the likes of which I haven’t reviewed for ages.

Released in August, the record is an eight-track riot of small-combo swing, by seven jazzmen from Montpellier, France. Before popping it on, I noticed that its liner notes describe the project as “part of a somewhat experimental series of recordings in which [the band] used, almost exclusively, a single central microphone.”

Now, this is usually something of a red flag for me, as it often signals that the listening experience has been sidelined in the service of some vintage vibe. But, you know what? If the band hadn’t ’fessed up, I wouldn’t have been any the wiser: whether I ran it through my hi-fi or my headphones, the sound quality was A-OK.

I can only assume that the guys employed a modern mic in this audio experiment, rather than some retro relic. Through headphones I was sure I could hear some panning, with certain instruments sounding louder in one ear than the other, so I’m guessing it was a stereo mic at that. (If not, it’s time for me to book an audiology appointment.)

Comprising three horns and four-part rhythm section, the Reapers line-up lends itself well to rhythm and blues. The boys lean nonchalantly into this, with tracks by the likes of Illinois Jacquet (“Merle’s Mood”), Jimmie Lunceford (“Annie Laurie”), and Coleman Hawkins (“Out to Lunch”). All are delivered with great gusto and the tempo ranges from steady stomp to blistering barrage, offering something for dancers of every stamina level.

One of the slower numbers is a rendition of Jelly Roll Morton’s “Millenberg Joys,” which features a truly brilliant vocal by trombonist Sami Khalfoune. His soulful, yearning, tremulous voice is ideally suited to this bluesy side and, much as I enjoy his instrumental contributions on the other tracks, I’m inclined to think his singing talents have been underused here.

Another highlight is “Annie Laurie,” a jazz reimagining of an 18th-century verse by Scottish poet William Douglas, which was set to music by Alicia Ann Spottiswoode around a century later. It isn’t the first time such a take has been attempted—Lunceford and others have waxed syncopated versions of Spottiswoode’s melody—but this version is unusual in that it includes a vocal, with guitarist Charles Huck having a charmingly French-accented attempt at Scots English.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this jumpin’ platter has reignited my burning love for swing dance. The Reapers note that they are “happy and proud of the result” of their experiment, and they have every reason to be. They “invite you to press play, close your eyes, and imagine that [they] are playing live for you”—and I implore you to RSVP in the affirmative. The record is available on Bandcamp now, with the digital download costing just a shade over $10.