The Solomon Douglas Swingtet

Solomon Douglas (user srcd on last.fm) founded the Solomon Douglas Swingtet in 2002, pursuing his dream of leading and writing for a larger jazz ensemble. The Solomon Douglas Swingtet functions either as a ten-piece or an 8-piece group, and plays all styles of swinging large-ensemble instrumental jazz music, ranging from 1920s pre-swing hot jazz, through the height of the Swing Era, the bebop of the late 1940s, 1950s big-band Swing, all the way up to swinging modern jazz: the band book includes the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Moten, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, and Sonny Rollins. Solomon Douglas is recognized the world over as an exponent and teacher of Lindy Hop, Blues Dancing, and related dance styles of African-American origin (such as the Charleston and Vernacular Jazz). He began teaching dance in 1999, and he has taught dance workshops all over the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Australia, and Asia. His experience as a dancer gives him a deep understanding of Swing music that most modern musicians lack, endowing him with the ability, all too rare nowadays, to play music that genuinely swings in the old-school way. The Swingtet performs an exclusive repertoire of original arrangements written by Douglas himself, consisting both of new arrangements of standard jazz songs and faithful adaptations transcribed from the classic recordings. Douglas is known for the quality of his arranging, and the striking authenticity of his transcriptions always draws enthusiastic and unanimous praise from the musicians who play in the band and from savvy audience members. Although Douglas’s band plays a lot of old music, they don’t make the songs into dry museum pieces: they play each song as though it is brand-new, filling it with soul, with life, and with exuberant, joyful energy. The band is tight and swinging, and holds itself to the highest standard of musicianship. The Solomon Douglas Swingtet has performed at more than 50 events in 13 states and provinces, from Florida to Washington, from California to Connecticut, from British Columbia to Ontario. It regularly appears before crowds of 300 to 600 people at major venues such as the Century Ballroom (Seattle, WA) and the Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom (Washington, DC). Douglas’s third album, Swingmatism, the debut release of the Solomon Douglas Swingtet, was released in 2006. It has received unequivocal enthusiastic praise from reviewers, listeners, dancers, and musicians, and has become a staple recording for swing dance teachers and DJs worldwide. It can be purchased at http://cdbaby.com/cd/sdswingtet. His fourth album, Live at the Legion, the second CD by the Solomon Douglas Swingtet, was released in June, 2009. It was recorded live at a dance event in Vancouver, British Columbia, and represents a typical live set by the band: exciting swing music from the 30s, hot jazz from the late 20s, and modern swinging Count Basie and Quincy Jones from the 50s. It's available from http://cdbaby.com/cd/sdswingtet2. Douglas currently lives with his fiancee in Seattle, Washington. Solomon Douglas’s website is http://solomondouglas.com/. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.