New ECHOES OF SWNG album 'DANCING' released on ACT MUSIC

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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….

First comments from the press:

This extraordinary band take earlier forms of jazz and do radical things to them. It's not done to mock or parody them in any way, but to coax out hidden delights and add a few of their own. In its early years, jazz was dance music, and these 16 tracks include such numbers as Scott Joplin's Ragtime Dance, Cole Porter's Dream Dancing and Sidney Bechet's Premier Bal, all subtly made over. It's witty and stimulating, and it depends on the superb musicianship of just four players – two Germans, an American and an Englishman – their pinpoint accuracy of timing and tonal delicacy, not to mention originality and sheer instrumental technique. I know of nothing else quite like it.

THE GUARDIAN, Dave Gelly

Across a couple of decades and seven albums Echoes Of Swing, a quartet based in Germany, has been inspired by swing music, while adding a contemporary twist. The band's most inspired take on a much-loved favorite is the waltz-time "Charleston"—a great ensemble performance and a rhythmical shift that threatens the cruciate ligaments of swing dancers the world over.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ, Bruce Lindsay

Gewitzter Neuanstrich und mehr und mehr eigene Kompositionen wie das charmant-elegische "Ballet of the Dunes" oder der muntere Auftaktsong "Hipsters Hop". Vital und originell - ein Meisterstreich.

JAZZTHETIK, Rolf Thomas

Echoes of Swing führen eine feine Klinge - beste Unterhaltung auf humorvolle Art mit brillantem Spiel, finessenreichem Charme und spürbarer Spielfreude. Im nicht gerade unterdotierten Bereich des swingenden Mainstream ist die Musik dieses Albums nicht zu toppen

JAZZ PODIUM, Ulrich Roth

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