[TR24][OF] Echoes Of Swing - Dancing - 2015 (Mainstream Jazz, ACT Music)

Early Jazz was first and foremost Dance music, a fact which is all too easily forgotten these days. As each new Dance craze arrived on the scene, from Charleston and Ragtime, through Foxtrot and Lindy Hop, and then on to Jive, the development of Jazz music moved along with it, and it was only later that Jazz was established in the concert hall. The quartet Echoes Of Swing have put a clear marker down with their latest album 'Dancing'.
This band has been at the crossroads of such currents and developments for many years. That said, they are certainly anything else than a Dance band. The album 'Dancing' is more an anthology which takes a wry look at the theme of dance in Jazz, occasionally heading off at a tangent, and making some very surprising connections. This is Dance in Jazz, but not as we know it. For a start, a third of the tracks are original compositions, and all of the remaining tunes have been not so much arranged, but more like given a complete and thorough overhaul.
The older selections now possess a new hipness and have been brought stylistically right up to the present day. This album presents the winning combination of flawless musicianship, a comprehensive knowledge of music history, good taste and judgement, and a sly sense of humour. For music cognoscenti, there are a myriad of subtle sleights of hand to enjoy. The Gavotte from Bach's sixth English Suite has been framed with the B-A-C-H motif; the Charleston has been straightened out into a modern Jazz waltz; the whirling wildness of the Carioca is put through some challenging changes in tempo, which reminds one of the celebrated film scene with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The couple briefly collide but continue to pick the tempo back up and dance on, slightly the worse for wear. These are subtle gags that delight music connoisseurs. Each of the tracks of 'Dancing' communicates simultaneously and directly with the brain, the emotions and down to your feet. There is quite simply a very wide range of delights for the listener to enjoy, find their favourites, and if you feel so inclined, to get up and dance to. Take the dusted-down, minimalist-style on “Moonlight Serenade”. It's not hard to imagine a solitary couple lured out onto a moonlit terrace.