The Swingin' Kools
Get Out Of the Car
(Rush-Mor)
The swing subculture is already being viewed with a jaundiced eye for its unabashed trendiness - all but asserting that the current “new” bands are recent converts, not genuine archivists tied to the spiritual sense of the music. Puh-leeze. Of course swing music has been immersed in a whole cultural package. But spare the attitude until you’ve been to a packed concert and witnessed twenty-somethings actually finding a scene that doesn’t involve a monochromatic black wardrobe or tie-dye and dreadlocks. Then keep in mind that just as well-crafted and performed music can transcend gothic and hippie environments, so can well-crafted and performed jump blues be validated apart from the two-tone wingtips...
That’s the story with Milwaukee’s Swingin’ Kools, a four-piece ensemble that’s been tearing up the club scene there for over a year. Formed in 1994 by harmonicist/vocalist Jon Mroz, the group is no latecomer to the genre. Their debut disc is filled with homage to the masters, from Joe Turner’s “Honey Hush,” to T-Bone Walker’s “Description Blues,” which masterfully documents guitarist Kid Malloy’s passion and respect for the material. The group is rounded out by bassist Matt “The Rat” Davis, a British native with an archival familiarity of past and present musicians, and drummer John Carr, whose keen sense of syncopation helps drive the rhythm section fluidly. Bolstering the Kools in the studio were three other artists who were key in filling out the sound. Piano Willie Oshawny, a disciple of Chicago’s legendary Otis Spann, graces many passages with nimble touches in the upper register. Saxophonist Dave Clark, a veteran of Floyd McDaniel’s last Delmark session, arranged and performed on several numbers, with Milwaukee sax man Jason Gillette helping to further fill out the sound. Their accompaniment hits full force in the sprightly “Roadmaster Boogie,” which borrows from Jimmy Liggins’ “Cadillac Boogie” (and pays respect to Davis’ ‘53 model). There’s a lot of musical interplay throughout the disc. One of the Kools’ anthem tunes, “Meet Me At Jim’s,” pairs Mroz and Malloy in a vigorous instrumental duet, while the rhythmic exercise between Davis and Carr on “The Cheater” draws in the rest of the performers. The Kools’ mix of original material with familiar (and not-so-familiar) cover tunes offers both a retrospective of the swing era and a demonstration of their versatility - it’s as if you had a whole stack of 78 RPM records from the era drawn into one concise package. And purchasing the CD is a whole lot easier than finding a working 78 turntable.
Dave Leucinger