► Get the album at the usual place...
It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That (Indigo) Swing*
3 : the number of albums released by Indigo Swing, the number of founding members present on each of the 3 albums (lead singer John “Johnny Boyd” Boydston, pianist William Beatty, saxophonist Barry "Baron Shul" Shumway), and the number of the other members featured on the last two albums (guitarist Josh Workman, Upright bassist Vance Ehlers, drummer “Big Jim” Overton).
6 : the number of guests featured on the band's albums (bassist Little David, guitarists Danny Caron & Rusty Zinn on "Indigo Swing", percussionist Robin Tolleson & trumpeter Scott Steen on “Red Light!”). 14 : the number of tracks on each album.
2 : the number of words (Swing Revival ) that describe the 1990s musical stream which originated mainly in California, inspired by the big bands of the 1930s-1940s swing era, mixing swing jazz and jump blues (influenced by artists like Louis Prima or the theatrical Cab Calloway) with elements of rockabilly, boogie-woogie, and sometimes ska. This Big Band nostalgia gave birth to bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, to cite only the most famous, and… Indigo Swing.
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| Johnny Boyd |
Total : 33. Is it a symbolic number ? As I'm far from being an expert in numerology, I will not venture to say anything...
Active for about seven years, Indigo Swing released the three albums reviewed here, until at the end of 1999, after “Red Light!” came out, Boyd left. The seven years hitch ? He was replaced by Nicole Vigil but the new group, shortened to Indigo, then re-baptized Nicole Vigil Band, didn't survive more than a couple of years.
The band is knitting a tasty collection of mid-tempo swing numbers aimed at highlighting Boyd's crooning vocals. William Beatty's appealing boogie-woogie piano, Baron Shul's hoarse and warm sax, and guests Danny Caron or Rusty Zinn's subtle jazz guitar, driven by a flawless rhythm section (Little David's upright bass and Bowen Brown's drums), are delivering quite an elegant performance.
Indigo Swing is covering classics from Louis Jordan, Walter Donaldson, Cole Porter, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jay McShann…, and plays five originals signed Boyd and Beatty, individually or together, with some nice stand-outs : the famous standards “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, “I Love Paris” (featuring great sax), the catchy “Flip Flop and Fly” and “Choo Choo Ch'Boogie”. Along these, Indigo Swing offers some equally enjoyable titles like “Please Tell 'Em” (excellent jazz guitar solo and sax parts), Jimmy Liggins' “I Can't Stop It”, “Swing Lover”, the exciting jump blues “Red Door Blues”. The album closes with the slow soulful, melodic and romantic “She Dreams of Me”, followed by the lively “Rollin' With Roland” from McShann.
With such an appealing debut album, no wonder why Indigo Swing suddenly burst up among the big names of swing revival.
With new members aboard, Josh Workman on guitar, Vance Ehlers on bass and “Big Jim” Overton on drums, the band was stabilized and tighter than ever as it appears as soon as the opening title, “The Indigo Swing”. More confident, especially in their song-writing, Indigo Swing offers almost exclusively its own compositions (Boyd and/or Beatty, Overton), except “Violent Love” from the great Chicago blues master Willie Dixon, and “That's Where My Money Goes” and “Hot In Harlem” signed by one mysterious Copyright Control, ha ha ha !, which means they are “traditionals”
Globally more energetic than the first album, musically less openly centered on Boyd and leaving more space to the musicians, “All Aboard !” has a clear jump blues flavor that makes the album sound even better than its predecessor. In particular Workman's fine jazz guitar brings a welcome new dimension, while Baron Shul on sax and Beatty whose piano boogies hard, sound liberated.
The Beatty-written “The Indigo Swing” and “Blue Suit Boogie”, both appropriately titled, stand out, just like the humorous “Baron Plays The Horses” with its funny intro. On the instrumental “Hot In Harlem”, Workman, Shul and Overton do not hold anything. “Regular Joe” with its big band horn riffs, “What's the Matter, Baby” and “Drinkin' It Up” are highly dancing tracks. The album ends with one of these slow romantic song Boyd seems to appreciate singing.
“All Aboard !” confirms the band's talent and takes the listener for a nice dive back into the swing era.
► Red Light ! (1999)
In the same vein that the first two albums, this third and last opus has everything to make us regret the end of the band. The title track “Red Light!” sounds like a warning as if this red light announced that the end was near… But this doesn't keep the band from delivering some solid swinging and jumping stuff : the rejoicing “Pop's at the Hop” and “Hot Pot Boogie” are irresistible (listen to Beatty's piano !) to the point they could almost make a crippled get up and dance !
The band also puts out some cool rhythmic tracks like “Another Day in L.A.”, “Big Hair Mama”, the outstanding “Don't Worry So Much”, the Cab Callowesque “Stayin' Up Late With Sonny”, “I Know My Love Is True”, “Ruby Mae”, “Guillaume's Pepper Step”.
“They Say I Must Be Crazy” as a clear country flavor while the no-swing romantic ballad “So Far Away From Me” starts by an acoustic guitar intro (you can hear Workman's fingers moving on the strings).
Again this third album is a quite agreeable moment from appealing musicians. The trilogy is all that remains from this short-lived but talented band. Fortunately, Johnny Boyd continued crooning in the same style with a new band (see the videos I picked up below) ! ■
* “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)” is the title of a Duke Ellington standard from 1931.
In the same vein that the first two albums, this third and last opus has everything to make us regret the end of the band. The title track “Red Light!” sounds like a warning as if this red light announced that the end was near… But this doesn't keep the band from delivering some solid swinging and jumping stuff : the rejoicing “Pop's at the Hop” and “Hot Pot Boogie” are irresistible (listen to Beatty's piano !) to the point they could almost make a crippled get up and dance !
The band also puts out some cool rhythmic tracks like “Another Day in L.A.”, “Big Hair Mama”, the outstanding “Don't Worry So Much”, the Cab Callowesque “Stayin' Up Late With Sonny”, “I Know My Love Is True”, “Ruby Mae”, “Guillaume's Pepper Step”.
“They Say I Must Be Crazy” as a clear country flavor while the no-swing romantic ballad “So Far Away From Me” starts by an acoustic guitar intro (you can hear Workman's fingers moving on the strings).
Again this third album is a quite agreeable moment from appealing musicians. The trilogy is all that remains from this short-lived but talented band. Fortunately, Johnny Boyd continued crooning in the same style with a new band (see the videos I picked up below) ! ■
* “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)” is the title of a Duke Ellington standard from 1931.
Live videos... are better than long speeches
● "Please Tell 'Em" : https://youtu.be/OkjjGLZdARE
● Billboard Club, Los Angeles :
→ "Pink Cadillac" : https://youtu.be/yv801fTGXv0
→ "My Baby Comes 'Round At 8" : https://youtu.be/X-dCaihLV8U
→ "I Know My Love Is True" : https://youtu.be/MNyqwkXiVjo
→ "Baby Baby" : https://youtu.be/wOPrLDfdT0I
→ "Reet, Petite & Gone” : https://youtu.be/lMR6a25hRkA
→ "Swing Lover" : https://youtu.be/s3cCG0Qbm0Y
→ "Pot Luck Boogie" : https://youtu.be/byK_Qta0Yyo
→ "Square Dance Boogie" : https://youtu.be/8iHGY7V8_Fk
→ "Bad, Bad Whiskey" : https://youtu.be/Y6CiyGJlpLE
● Release party for the album "All Aboard" at Tower Records, San Francisco, July 1998 : https://youtu.be/aSQX2NoxnGw
● Demo, San Francisco, 1998 : https://youtu.be/HY8rDiG3SyY
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| William Beatty |
● The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA, 1998 :
→ "The Indigo Swing" : https://youtu.be/-zjGFA8IEVM
→ "Blue Suit Boogie" : https://youtu.be/mz-1jZro8r8
● The following performances were taped at the Stuttgart Jazz Festival (Germany) in 1999 for a video release entitled "Swing It !" :
→ “How Lucky Can One Guy Be ?" : https://youtu.be/hS5_pUd0kJg
→ "Baron Plays The Horses" : https://youtu.be/KwfQtCEpqPY
→ "Hot In Harlem" : https://youtu.be/vRClSwWz8H8
● Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, 1999 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/ZYnU0ZZk_rs
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/0l0OmmHWwBs
► Johnny Boyd Band
● “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, Pasadena, CA, 2012 : https://youtu.be/k5jHz9l9IJ0
● “Blue Suit Boogie”, 2013 : https://youtu.be/QplagBPJBmQ
● “Pop's At The Hop", Portland, OR, 2014 : https://youtu.be/0_QZt5P_ckA
● Verdi Club, San Francisco, 2014 : https://youtu.be/sLhzwQ7sdbc
● “Whats The Matter Baby”, The Secret Society, Portland, OR, 2014 : https://youtu.be/GTn-bTgAqmU
● “Some Eggs”, 7165 Lounge, Philadelphia, PA, 2014 : https://youtu.be/RT-g9yZIgBU
● “Swing Lover”, Oklahoma City, 2015 : https://youtu.be/KFOS3iKWDdA
● “Someday Dreams of You”, 2016 : https://youtu.be/Oc7xcy6Sc2Q
● “Red Light”, 2016 : https://youtu.be/spdxj8xQQgc
● “Violent Love”, 2016 : https://youtu.be/L5PCKhB9cHQ
● “How Lucky can one guy be ?” : https://youtu.be/oNvblS5epyU
● The Alamo, San Antonio, TX, 2017 :
→ “One More Kiss (To Stop The Rain)" : https://youtu.be/U-Q_PTjOOG4
→ "All That Heaven Will Allow" : https://youtu.be/uAdliXdPrQA
● Los Angeles, 2017 :
→ "Nothing But The Best" : https://youtu.be/DWp_lfYcBIE
→ "Get Back" : https://youtu.be/f63PwnM4trg
→ "You Found A Way (To Rescue Me)" : https://youtu.be/hEBc6cX6ets
● Chicago, 2017 :
→ "My Baby Comes 'Round At 8" :https://youtu.be/Ew2yc_pMw4E
→ "Brandy" : https://youtu.be/Cx2mf0XL1PM
● "Last Word In", The Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA, 2018 : https://youtu.be/vwMK_h7dTCE
● "Rock 'n' Roll Is King", Phoenix, AZ, 2018 : https://youtu.be/0cS9TR4Ht5w
● Portland, OR, 2018 :
→ "So Many Pretty Women" : https://youtu.be/DBF1xLfXT1M
→ “You're So Square" : https://youtu.be/IYDvN-Q7Jaw
● Lake Union, Seattle, WA, 2020 :
→ “Moment“ : https://youtu.be/Fazq7hz3KLI
→ "Some Things Never Change" : https://youtu.be/wxedVU3Kw1g
→ "The Indigo Swing" : https://youtu.be/-zjGFA8IEVM
→ "Blue Suit Boogie" : https://youtu.be/mz-1jZro8r8
● The following performances were taped at the Stuttgart Jazz Festival (Germany) in 1999 for a video release entitled "Swing It !" :
→ “How Lucky Can One Guy Be ?" : https://youtu.be/hS5_pUd0kJg
→ "Baron Plays The Horses" : https://youtu.be/KwfQtCEpqPY
→ "Hot In Harlem" : https://youtu.be/vRClSwWz8H8
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| Barry "Baron Shul" Shumway |
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/ZYnU0ZZk_rs
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/0l0OmmHWwBs
► Johnny Boyd Band
● “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, Pasadena, CA, 2012 : https://youtu.be/k5jHz9l9IJ0
● “Blue Suit Boogie”, 2013 : https://youtu.be/QplagBPJBmQ
● “Pop's At The Hop", Portland, OR, 2014 : https://youtu.be/0_QZt5P_ckA
● Verdi Club, San Francisco, 2014 : https://youtu.be/sLhzwQ7sdbc
● “Whats The Matter Baby”, The Secret Society, Portland, OR, 2014 : https://youtu.be/GTn-bTgAqmU
● “Some Eggs”, 7165 Lounge, Philadelphia, PA, 2014 : https://youtu.be/RT-g9yZIgBU
● “Swing Lover”, Oklahoma City, 2015 : https://youtu.be/KFOS3iKWDdA
● “Red Light”, 2016 : https://youtu.be/spdxj8xQQgc
● “Violent Love”, 2016 : https://youtu.be/L5PCKhB9cHQ
● “How Lucky can one guy be ?” : https://youtu.be/oNvblS5epyU
● The Alamo, San Antonio, TX, 2017 :
→ “One More Kiss (To Stop The Rain)" : https://youtu.be/U-Q_PTjOOG4
→ "All That Heaven Will Allow" : https://youtu.be/uAdliXdPrQA
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| Vance "Romance" Ehlers |
→ "Nothing But The Best" : https://youtu.be/DWp_lfYcBIE
→ "Get Back" : https://youtu.be/f63PwnM4trg
→ "You Found A Way (To Rescue Me)" : https://youtu.be/hEBc6cX6ets
● Chicago, 2017 :
→ "My Baby Comes 'Round At 8" :https://youtu.be/Ew2yc_pMw4E
→ "Brandy" : https://youtu.be/Cx2mf0XL1PM
● "Last Word In", The Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA, 2018 : https://youtu.be/vwMK_h7dTCE
● "Rock 'n' Roll Is King", Phoenix, AZ, 2018 : https://youtu.be/0cS9TR4Ht5w
● Portland, OR, 2018 :
→ "So Many Pretty Women" : https://youtu.be/DBF1xLfXT1M
→ “You're So Square" : https://youtu.be/IYDvN-Q7Jaw
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| Josh Workman |
→ “Moment“ : https://youtu.be/Fazq7hz3KLI
→ "Some Things Never Change" : https://youtu.be/wxedVU3Kw1g
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| "Big Jim" Overton |
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