What is this thing called Swing? “Old-school swing music is difficult to describe in words,” says bandleader, arranger-composer, guitarist, and singer Glenn Crytzer. “It has something that you can feel in your bones. It can be loud and wild or quiet and reflective, but it always has this drive in it that resonates with your soul in a profound way. It can transport you to another time and place. When you hear it, your body just can’t help but move with the groove.”
Crytzer and his New York-based band, the Savoy Seven, are bringing fresh inspiration and new ideas to Swing. While some revivalists seek to recreate old recordings and others create new genres by fusing swing with modern styles or techniques, Crytzer takes a unique approach. He and his musicians create new and original music within the old style. “I like to think of us as a 1940s swing band that has its own sound, just like the older bands all had their own styles. We just happened to arrive 70 years late to the party.”
The Savoy Seven displays this energy on their latest album of original compositions, Uptown Jump. The record consists of riff tunes, jump numbers, ballads, blues, and songbook-style tunes. Many of these performances tip their hats to the swing-era greats, but all with a spark that is uniquely Crytzer’s The Savoy Seven executes these challenging new arrangements creativity but with faithfulness to the genre. The album is engineered to sound, as Crytzer puts it, “like an old record but with better fidelity. We record with just a pair of mics in front of the band to achieve a nice, old-time, blended sound.”
Uptown Jump sounds like a gem that was lost in a record company’s warehouse in 1942 and was only recently rediscovered and released to the public. Whether you are a rug-cutter swinging out to the Savoy Seven’s heart-pounding rhythm or an alligator with an ear for the subtle nuance of Crytzer’s carefully crafted compositions, Uptown Jump is sure to excite and satisfy.
YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE “UPTOWN JUMP” HERE
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