When the group Swing Shift sets up at Blues Alley on Sunday night, audiences will be treated to one of the largest traditional configurations of a big band orchestra possible.
Five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, a full rhythm section and a male singer perform swing classics as well as popular ballads and today’s jazz hits, under the direction of leader and guitarist Matt Trimboli.
“It’s a very unusual thing for a guitarist to lead a big band, [but] our repertoire is more guitar-oriented than most big bands’,” he said. “We like to do a lot of things in the Count Basie style.”
The iconic band leader Count Basie never went out on the road or recorded without a guitar, an integral part of the big bands that originated from banjo players in Dixieland bands.
“We have a book of more than 500 songs, mostly from the American standard repertoire, [in] a collection of music that we’ve assembled over 15 years,” said Barkley Kern, the band’s vocalist. “It’s a real labor of love keeping that music out there.”
If you go
Swing Shift Big Band
Where: Blues Alley Jazz Supper Club, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW
When: 8 and 10:00 p.m. Sunday
Info: $20; 202-337-4141; bluesalley.com
Swing Shift plays almost exclusively in the D.C. area, with one half of its gigs being public performances and events and the other half private parties. The band considers the Blues Alley gig a real showcase for its music and is honored to be invited back to perform every year. An honor, too, are the folks who turn up to hear them.
“We get a lot of families that come out to hear us, [and] the ones who talk to us after a show tend to be the ones that have more experience with the music, who have memories of going to see the big bands when they were younger,” Kern said.
For tonight’s show, the band will be focusing on many of the songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, such as “I’ve Got You under My Skin” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”
When asked why he feels the younger generation has begun gravitating to the hits of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Kern said, “There’s always an audience for quality music. People always respond to sophisticated compositions and great lyrics. They tell such wonderful love stories.”
