Name: Black British Swing: The African Diaspora's Contribution To England's Own Jazz of the 1930s and 1940s by Various Artists
Brand: Various Artists
SKU: 714822078122
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (168 reviews)

COMPILATION

The U.K. is often associated with many styles of music, but swing music isn't one of them. Black British Swing goes out of its way to represent British swing music, exclusively limiting itself to black performers. There isn't a huge variety of performers found here. In fact, the collection focuses on just a few: Leslie Thompson with the Spike Hughes Orchestra, Ken "Snakeships" Johnson and His West Indian Dance Band, Ken Johnson's Rhythm Section, the Lauderic Canton Quartet, Cyril Blake and His Jigs Club Band, Frank Deniz and His Spirits of Rhythm, and Leslie "Jiver" Hutchinson and His Coloured Orchestra. However, as nice as it would have been to have more performers represented -- ideally a different performer for every song -- it's also interesting to hear a few different performances by a given performer so you can compare and contrast. ~ Jason Birchmeier

1. Tap Your Feet

by Leslie Thompson, Spike Hughes Orchestra

Primary Artist: Leslie Thompson
Spike Hughes Orchestra; Main Performer
Composer: Brun Philippe Henri
Hart John; Composer

2. Washington Squabble

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Hopkins Claude
Norman Fred; Composer

3. Please Be Kind

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Cahn Sammy
Chaplin Saul; Composer

4. Snakehips Swing

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Haas
Sai; Composer

5. Exactly Like You

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Fields, Dorothy
Machugh Jimmy; Composer

6. The Sheik of Araby

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Smith Harry B Bache
Snyder Ted
Wheeler Francis; Composer

7. My Buddy

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Donaldson, Walter
Kahn Gus; Composer

8. Give Me My Ranch - El Rancho Grande

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Costello Bartley
Uranga Donato Emilio; Composer

9. Tuxedo Junction

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Buddy Feyne
Erskine Hawkins
Julian Dash
William Johnson; Composer

10. Ida

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Leonard Eddie
Munson Eddie; Composer

11. Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Arthur Young
George Evans
William Shakespeare; Composer

12. It Was a Lover and His Lass

by Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band

Primary Artist: Ken 'snakehips' Johnson & His West Indian Dance Band; Main Performer
Composer: Arthur Wilson Coltherd Young
William Shakespeare; Composer