Swing

"Stiff" and "relaxed" are two ways of playing Swing. One is termed bad, the other good. What are the two styles, who plays them and why is one better than the other?

It must be understood that the object of good swing is the creation of musical ideas ad lib that have continuity, simplicity, and sincerity (need we add, originality). Any band style of playing that aids this is therefore good; any that hinders it is bad. In the opinion of most musicians, the "stiff" or "power-house" style hinders the above, and is bad whereas the "relaxed" or "colored lag" style is the very essence of that thing swing.

For examples, let's take two records by one band and see which is what and why. About a year and a half ago, Gene Krupa's band made a record called "I Know That You Know" (Brunswick). It was the first record they made, and as a matter of fact, was their first band effort. This record was not only stiff, it suffered from rigor mortis, and here's why: everybody in the band, particularly drummerman Krupa, was playing ahead of the beat. As you play the notes of a melody, it sets up a four-four tempo. Krupa was depending on the ear of the listener, used to hearing four-four tempos from marches and other dance tunes, to remember that tempo; then from the very beginning of the record, the band proceeded to play ahead of this implied beat. Push, push, push, till the record sounds like a pile driver with St. Vitus dance. Drive is the whole object of this style of playing.

Have you ever seen a runner in the last lap, racing for the tape? Doesn't look very happy, does he? And he probably isn't able to think of much else besides getting to the finish. This analogy fits the "stiff" dance band exactly. Guys who play in them are so busy trying to drive ahead and stay ahead of the beat that their ideas become stereotyped, and cold. They can't think of anything decent because in back of them all this time, there is this terrific push that doesn't let them phrase, or even pause for ideas.

It's a rat-race.

The bands most guilty of this are the white bands. Goodman, Krupa, Barnet, Dorsey, and others have all suffered from this failing. The first two seem to be getting away from it now.

What the good relaxed band does it just the opposite of the stiff band. They depend on the ear of the listener to hold the idea of a steady beat and then they begin go play behind it. This is the famous "colored lag," that which takes years to develop, and which most white bands never get.

Listen to Gene Krupa's new record of "Hodge-Podge" and you'll hear not only "relaxed" swing, but soles of a sort that are going to make Gene's band one of the top white bands before the year is over. It's easy-flowing, the rhythm "takes it time." As a result, the soles can be slow, and well phrased. It's not easy--it took Gene's bunch this long to learn how to do it.

Many bands either drag when they try it, or think that the nervous excitement resulting from the "stiff" drive style is better. Goodman used to think so, and things like "Sing, Sing, Sing" resulted. But people soon tire of the constant pound of the style and grow sick of the dearth of ideas in the music. So Goodman is trying to shift his band to the other style. Whether he will succeed is a moot question.

This playing "behind" and "ahead" of the beat is the difference between "all the colored boys" having rhythm and "all of the white boys" not having it. It's not a question of having it: it's a question of knowing what to do with it, once you've set it up. And the colored boys just seem to "take it easy" naturally.

And don't think "lag" style can be found by pounding ahead in four-four drive. Just the opposite results. And if your are going to be successful, you must have a band that plays in the "same hag"; in other words, plays as a unit the same amount behind the beat. That's why all new bands, bands of all-stars, bands mixing two beat and four beat men are bad. You can't have a mixture of ideas about the "proper lag" and get the swing. For unity, a really good swing band must make a football team look like the Tower of Babel.