The band is tight, but easy. They play like a nice zoot suit, relaxed, but stylish. The liner notes have some good information in them, including a quote from original swing era clarinet player, Artie Shaw, that really spoke to me. They said I played swing. There's no such thing as swing.
Swing is a verb.
The mix of swing styles that Sunshine and his band present in Straight Up is a testament to Shaw's sentiment. Still, one would have to call all of them, and the rest of the CD's tracks, swinging. Copyright 1996-1998 City College of San Francisco. All rights reserved. Articles by Guardsman staff writers are copyright by The Guardsman, a student-run publication of the Journalism Department of City College of San Francisco.