Yes, April is drawing to a close, baseball season has started and the Red Sox finally starting to win a few, and we’re looking forward to May flowers. A perfect chance for us to talk about a classic swing tune, “When I Get Low I Get High” as popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Savoy Ballroom favorite Chick Webb & his Orchestra…listen here!

I’m sure it doesn’t take an ethnomusicologist to realize that this little ditty was written about drugs and flying high away from the blues. Well listening to it today, it is such an uplifting anthem that we’re going to use that as our mantra. As we hit the street this morning we’re going to think about it all day long until the dance… Then guest DJs Devona Cartier and Isaac Marx are going to pick up on this theme and take us“Hidey-hi-dee-hi” on Cab Calloway and other fine artists from the glory days of the Savoy Ballroom.  And we’re going to do it Nancy Reagan style…”Just say no to drugs”…AND…”Just say, Yes to swing”.  And I guarantee you they won’ t play this.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Yee Haw!  Odessa Rose brings Western Swing back to Boston Swing Central for their 2nd appearance.  This past January, they wowed us and warmed our Cold Cold Hearts with some energetic fiddle-banjo-guitar playing and their down home back porch swing. 

Just in case you are unfamiliar with what Western Swing is, don’t worry,  it’s got nothing to do with West Coast Swing…it is the 1940s Texas interpretation of what Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie were doing at the time.   Basically, cats like Spade Cooley and Bob Wills felt that if the Duke and the Count could swing, so could they.   Except they had pedal steel guitars instead of large horn sections.  With the Country and Western instrumentation in place, they played hot jazz country-fried, and country songs hot jazz-style and Western Swing as a genre of music was born.  We highly recommend you check out this blog to get more information on Western Swing…ahh haa!

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Boston Swing Central is happy that this Friday marks the end of tax season!  And now we can enjoy Spring without that nagging specter of the taxman hanging over us like some college paper that needs writing.  To celebrate, tonight we have Cara Ball and Tina Desorcy back as our guest DJs.  Cara and Tina make a great dynamic duo and we’re looking forward to a wicked good time.  Both of them know how to light up our dance floor, and we’ll surely be leaving the high stress of all those 1099s, 1040s and schedules behind.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Swing Legacy, a six piece little big band has been a fixture of the Boston swing scene since 1991, playing with the style and informed of the great big bands from the swing era. Their repertoire concentrates on classic big band swing music including many Duke Ellington and Count Basie numbers ideal for Lindy Hop and swing dancing. Much of their great catalog of songs showcases their phenomenal singer, Debby Larkin. It promises to be a night full of exciting original arrangements that will keep you dancing all night long!

Here’s a short story as told to us by their larger-than-life saxophone player, Ted Casher

(on right) Ted Casher

“I was gigging with Bo Winiker Orchestra at the Faneuil Hall Rotunda for a Wellesley College 10-year class reunion. Bo said that we could play anything we wanted, only as soft as possible! We were playing bebop tunes, the ladies were reuniting, when I noticed a tall, good-looking man listening intently, standing up against the wall. At the end of the set, he came up to me and asked, “Is that the new Dukoff mouthpiece? I’ve heard about it. Sounds good!”

We talked on—he was knowledgeable about reeds and mouthpieces, and I asked “Are you playing now? He answered, “Not much these days. I’m the Governor of Arkansas, and I don’t have time to practice.”

I then asked, “Wanna play?” He said, “Sure!”, and so I grabbed Bo and said “I’ve got a tenor player who wants to sit in—he’s the Governor of Arkansas.” Bo said “Sure”, and so I gave William Jefferson Clinton a spare strap and my tenor sax. I grabbed my alto, and we all played.

We played some blues, followed by “Perdido”, then “Take the A-Train.” You could tell that Bill had spent time with the instrument — he knew such minutae as the out-choruses to “Perdido” and “A-Train”. He also soloed well — didn’t make any blatant errors!

The alumnae were beginning to come up to the bandstand to watch him play, and after the set was over, a lady with brown wavy hair and big hexagonal glasses came up and said to him “You sounded great, Dear!” It was Hillary Rodham Clinton!

The next time I saw Bill Clinton, I was playing a fundraiser for him at the Parker House. And the next time, I was in DC with the Winiker Orchestra, playing lead alto at his Inauguration!”

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Boston Swing Central is happy to have The Rusty Scott Trio back for his first appearance in our new space.  Yes, it’s been about a year since we last danced to Rusty Scott.  And this time we’ve asked him to play with guest vocalist Alicia Wagner.   Rusty is a soulful and groovy pianist who has been a fixture on the Boston jazz scene for some time and has played for us on several occasions.  Check out their versions of Night Train and Tuxedo Junction.  His playing reminds us of a little bit of Jimmy Smith and Gene Harris combined.   Alicia is a semi-regular dancer at Boston Swing Central who also happens to be an accomplished jazz vocalist.  We’re very excited for her to join the Rusty Scott Trio as their styles complement each other quite well.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

It’s the beginning of April and as the luck of the calendar would have it, Friday is April 1st, April Fool’s Day.  A day for a merry prankster (like the staff of the BSC) and the Jailhouse 5+2, who happily agreed to be our musical Court Jesters for the evening.  Juggling quartertones with a rapacious delight, the Jailhouse 5+2 display their formidable sense of humor as they swing with a 1920s speakeasy gangster swagger…AND THUS…

…if you have not seen the Jailhouse 5+2, they are a 7-piece (hence the 5+2, simple arithmetic my friend) combo which are informed by New Orleans, Hot Jazz , Dixieland and the lawless era of the 1920s!  Now that’s a mouthful!  And when you hear that ole banjo and those horns come marchin’ in, you will be transported back to the day when Bonnie & Clyde galavanted the countryside from Texas to Minnesota knocking off gas stations and mom and pop general stores.  And we ain’t joking, we’re just April Fools…

…which concidentally (or not so), this day also happens to mark the 3rd Anniversary of Boston Swing Central!  Yeah, can you believe it?!  In a short 3 years: we’ve run hundreds of dances, moved into the Whistle Stop, brought you the finest swing music this side of the Mississippi and we just can’t wait for you to experience all of what we’ve got planned!  Come celebrate with us (so we don’t have to pat ourselves on the back, now that would be really foolish).

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129