Swing Is In The Air
Sunday January 6th, 2019 with Bernard Stepien
1920’s Limehouse Blues revisited for a whole century

Some tunes attract the attention of various Jazz musicians that transform them into their own sometimes unrecognisable versions. One that struck me in particular is the 1921 British composition of Limehouse Blues. Already, this song was in what nowadays we called the top forties during the roaring 20’s but it remained a target for Jazz greats even after WWII with artists such as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins or Dave Brubeck. Today we will hack though 28 different versions of Limehouse Blues including Fletcher Henderson in 1934, Duke Ellington in 1931 and 1962, Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1924, Hilda Myers on a piano roll in 1922, Benny Goodman in 1979, Sidney Bechet in 1941, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck & Gerry Mulligan in 1970, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Buddy Rich vs Max Roach, Sonny Rollins in 1958 and many more … Ironically, even today when I play Limehouse Blues at my Vineyards gigs I manage to raise considerable interest from the drinking and dining crowd. Not bad for an amateur musician…