Swing Jazz and Old Time Recordings

Mount Baker Swing Compact Disc: Swing Cat CD 1493 Cassette: Swing Cat 1493
	Sample of cut in RealAudio (download RealAudio player): Sweet Georgia Brown, 8 KHz Stereo, 350 KB
	Paul Anastasio and Jack Hansen have played music together for close to thirty years. At the beginning of their musical association they performed together as members of the Southfork Bluegrass Band. The years found them both increasingly drawn to the mesmerizing music of the Swing Era. By the late '70s Paul was studying with Joe Venuti, and he and Jack were jamming with Joe at his home and at a now-defunct Seattle club, which shall remain nameless for the reason that the club's owners neglected to pay a certain well-known violinist. For some unknown reason the unpredictable Joe created aliases for Paul, who became "John Philip," and Jack, who was renamed "Paul Revere," and introduced them as such on stage. When Paul moved back to the Northwest after years of touring with Bakersfield, Austin and Nashville-based bands, it was natural for him to continue his musical partnership with Jack. A performance in Paul's home town of Bellingham, Washington at the Mount Baker Theater provided a perfect showcase for the hand-in-glove symbiosis of these long-time friends and musical partners. The digital recording gear was rolling for the reunion of "John Philip" and "Paul Revere" as the boys played these great standards before an appreciative and enthusiastic audience: Sweet Georgia Brown My Melancholy Baby Mood Indigo Take the "A" Train It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Honeysuckle Rose Oh, Lady Be Good! I Can't Give You Anything but Love Dinah Don't Get Around Much Anymore Hush My Child Exactly Like You Moonglow Pennies from Heaven Undecided As the audience's reaction confirms, this is truly an energetic and inspired performance from the heart, and one you'll really enjoy. The Swing Cat gives it four paws up!
Spaghetti Rag featuring Paul Anastasio, Rich Levine and Ray Wood Compact disc: Swing Cat CD 1500 Cassette: Swing Cat 1500
	Sample of cut in RealAudio (download RealAudio player): Peacock Rag, 8 KHz Stereo, 350 KB
	Rich Levine, one of the finest Texas style fiddle backup guitarists, has backed Paul Anastasio and scores of other fiddlers at dozens of fiddle contests, as well as playing countless hours of swing rhythm in jam sessions and wiring half the city of Seattle as an electrician. For years he and Paul had discussed making a fiddle and guitar recording of ragtime, a style that in its original form dates to the turn of the last century. As with so many other popular styles, ragtime evolved, drawing from the traditional and swing jazz that followed it, and in the case of fiddle rags drawing from the various regional fiddling styles to create a number of compelling hybrids. So irresistible was this melange of styles that make up rag fiddling that the Swing Cat tapped not only Paul and Rich but the ebullient and eminently talented Ray Wood (heard here on tenor guitar), and led them to the digital lair of our engineer Rus Davis, commanding that a recording of such be made forthwith. A hearty helping of rags named after animals, states, people - even pickles and spaghetti - was the result, comprised of: Crazy Otto Rag Christie Ann's Rag Draggin' the Bow (Take 1) Peacock Rag Oklahoma Rag Forty Dogs in a Meat House River Road Stomp Spaghetti Rag I Don't Love Nobody Dill Pickles Hotfoot Don't Let the Deal Go Down Draggin' the Bow (Take 2) Satisfied Bill Boyd's Lone Star Rag Crazy Otto Rag (Reprise) Noted composer and pianist Eubie Blake said of ragtime, "...it had all the best things in music: rhythm, melody and syncopation." Rich, Ray, Paul and the Swing Cat concur and suggest that you to serve yourself a CD or cassette-sized portion of Spaghetti Rag.
NEW! Twin Fiddle Western Swing featuring the twin fiddles of Dick Barrett and Paul Anastasio with Lisa Barrett and Tom Morarre Compact disc: Swing Cat CD 1504
	Sample of cut in RealAudio (download RealAudio player): Detour, 8 KHz Stereo, 350 KB
	Dick Barrett and Paul Anastasio have fiddled together for over twenty-five years. They first got acquainted during the early 1970s when both Paul and Dick were playing in fiddle contests in the West. Dick is an undisputed master of the Texas style of old-time fiddling. Basing his sound on the driving breakdown style of groundbreaking Texas pioneer Major Franklin, Dick has dominated the fiddle contest scene as no one has before or since. Over the years he has amassed a small collection of over one thousand contest trophies, most of which are engraved with the number one. Dick is equally adept at playing western swing, as he cut his teeth playing the swing-heavy western and country music of the 1950s. His tasteful playing graced the bands of Lefty Frizzell, The Sons of the Pioneers, Tex Ritter and T. Texas Tyler, for whom he was both fiddler and bandleader. Paul Anastasio has also played a few of the old western swing tunes a time or two. Merle Haggard loves western swing, and in 1978 when Paul was working as a member of Haggard's backup band,The Strangers, Merle's shows always included several western swing numbers. Four years with Asleep at the Wheel didn't hurt Paul's country swing chops either. It would certainly seem as though a twin fiddle recording featuring Dick and Paul would be a natural. What was hard was scheduling time for recording sessions between Dick's heavy schedule of teaching, performing and travel and Paul's road work and recording in Nashville. Paul's 1992 escape from Nashville and his return to his native Pacific Northwest simplified logistics. Two music-drenched visits to Dick and his wife Lisa Barrett's Montana home solidified the arrangements and song selection. All that remained was to wax tracks, and so in the fall of 1997 Paul loaded up his trusty van and headed east from Seattle with a load of digital recording gear and vintage ribbon microphones. Stopping in Missoula to pick up one Tom Morarre, an affable gentleman who happens to play a lot of guitar, the journey continued until the boys arrived in bustling Rapelje, Montana (population 60). Dick and Lisa were waiting with fiddle and guitar at the ready. A studio was set up in their home and, for the next four days, whenever the spirit moved them the red light came on and the quartet made music. The tunes recorded ran the gamut from western swing standards to old- time waltzes, from big band swing tunes to country classics. Everyone concerned with this project is looking 'frontwards,' as Johnny Gimble says, to the recording of the second volume in this series. This next volume will feature more of the fine fiddling of Lisa Barrett, as on the first recording she was kept busy playing guitar on all but one cut - the triple fiddle Sunbonnet Sue. Here are the tunes on Twin Fiddle Western Swing: Detour Faded Love Kansas City Kitty Home on the Range Spanish Two-Step Westphalia Waltz Right or Wrong Let Me Ride in Your Little Red Wagon Deep Water Red Wing 3 O'Clock in the Morning Sunbonnet Sue Hang Your Head in Shame There's a New Moon over My Shoulder I Don't Love Nobody This loving interplay of two longtime fiddle playing compadres was a long time coming, but the results are more than worth the quarter-century wait. Jump onto this recording and let it transport you into the middle of a great Montana music session! The Swing Cat says, "Wow! Two fiddles! That's a lot of catgut! Good thing I didn't wander into any string factories before they cut this one."
Zombies of Swing Compact Disc: Swing Cat CD 1495 Cassette: Swing Cat 1495
	Sample of cut in RealAudio (download RealAudio player): Stars Fell on Alabama, 8 KHz Stereo, 350 KB
	For one week each year, the campus of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia becomes a hotbed of swing as the Augusta Heritage Center presents Swing Week. At the conclusion of the intensive week of teaching and playing in 1993, an all-day recording session was arranged by Swing Cat. Paul Anastasio on violin was joined by fellow instructors Steve Jones on piano and Roger Bellow on guitar, with the able assistance of Kathy Reitz on bass. This quartet swung hard on three original Count Basie-style blues numbers and a standard by longtime Basie trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison. Joining this instrumental core of players were several vocal instructors as well, including Chicago songbird Susan Smentek, Liz Masterson and Sean Blackburn. When the session was over, this all-star group had digitally waxed: Stars Fell On Alabama (Susan, vocal) Loud Door Blues Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You) (Liz and Susan, vocals) Sleep Deprivation Blues There's an Old Watermill (By a Waterfall) (Sean, vocal) You Call Everybody Darlin' (Roger, vocal) Cafeteria Blues Dream a Little Dream of Me (Susan, vocal) Taps Miller They Can't Take That Away from Me (Susan, vocal) This outstanding group of performers, running more on adrenaline than sleep after completing a long week of teaching (hence the recording's name) more than admirably rose to the occasion, and the result is a swinging set of great vocals and instrumentals.

Upcoming recording projects include CDs of Dick Barrett and Paul Anastasio's Twin Fiddle Western Swing, Volume 2, lots more Juan Reynoso, 92 year old Trinidad Marquez, who is another fine Mexican violinist, and perhaps even some recordings of young whippersnappers under the age of eighty.

Look for American old-time fiddle, western swing and lots of great old swing standards on our future releases. If there's anything that you'd like to hear on our Swing Cat label, please let us know.

Swingin' in Seattle...Live! Compact disc: Swing Cat CD 1502 Cassette: Swing Cat 1502
	Sample of cut in RealAudio (download RealAudio player): Swing 39, 8 KHz Stereo, 350 KB
	Seattle bids farewell to what passes for summer with the aptly named Bumbershoot Arts Festival, featuring a mixture of national and local artists performing in a variety of styles. Paul Anastasio and his Swing Cats were selected to showcase at Bumbershoot in 1995 and again in 1997. The more recent set, with Paul on violin, Jack Hansen on guitar and Spencer Hoveskeland on bass, is presented here exactly as the audience heard it on that sunny Seattle summer day. Paul Anastasio - Violin, Octave Violin Paul studied jazz violin with Joe Venuti and played extensively for years with fine western swing fiddlers such as Johnny Gimble, Joe Holley and Buddy Spicher. He hopes it shows. Jack Hansen - Arch-top Guitar Jack has been a presence on the Western Washington music scene for over 30 years, with his musical association with Paul going back nearly that far. A veteran of many Seattle bands, he's heard here playing rock-solid rhythm guitar in the tradition of Basie guitarist Freddie Green. Spencer Hoveskeland - Dog-house Bass Spencer "Hoverkraft" Hoveskeland studied with longtime Bill Evans bassist Chuck Israels. A talented, creative player known for his arco (bowed) bass work, Spencer loves to laugh and is a tremendous addition to the Swing Cats. Bugle Blues Honeysuckle Rose Nuages Lulu's Back in Town Some of These Days Skip It Swing 39 Swingin' Softly Moonglow (I'm Living in the Past) Giuseppi's Blues I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart Avalon Bugle Blues (reprise)
Swing Cat is proud to offer actual vinyl: "We Ain't Misbehavin'" Arhoolie LP #5032
	Paul Anastasio was fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform, jam and study informally with some truly legendary western swing musicians. While attending the Sweet's Mill music camp outside of Fresno, California, he was introduced to the phenomenal guitarist Frank Hicks. Frank, who had played in Junior Bernard's western swing band after Junior left Bob Wills, was known up and down the west coast as a master of swing guitar. It was through Frank that Paul became acquainted with two longtime Bob Wills sidemen: trumpeter Alex Brashear and left-handed fiddler Joe Holley. This friendship resulted in innumerable jam sessions, with Joe on occasion joining Paul onstage with Asleep at the Wheel or Paul sitting in with Joe's band - Joe Holley and the All-stars. Joe had helped Paul learn the "over-and-under" two-part harmony that Joe had played for years in the Wills band, and everyone concerned was excited about making a musical record of their musical camaraderie featuring this big, three-part sound. As Joe, Alex, Frank and Paul were all swing nuts, and as the two Wills alumni had played and recorded all of the western swing standards countless times, it was decided that the recording would instead feature great standards of the 20s and 30s. Alex's passing reduced the group to a trio, but all agreed that the record must still be made, so one memorable night in 1983 the boys met at the studio, the tape rolled, and the following tunes were captured: Joe's Blues (a Joe Holley original) My Mother's Eyes Sweet Georgia Brown Paul's Jive Should I? I'm Confessin' I'll Never Be the Same Rose Room Oh, Lady Be Good! Kansas City Kitty I Can't Give You Anything but Love Jealous Honeysuckle Rose Ain't Misbehavin' "This music is hot and I like it!" - Johnny Gimble Swing Cat is in the process of remastering the original master tape of this project for CD and cassette release in the near future. As we remaster, we hope to uncover alternate takes to include in the reissue. Since this recording was made both Joe Holley and Frank Hicks have passed on, but those of you with working turntables can ride a vinyl magic carpet back in time to that hot Fresno night and listen in as three good friends give it all they've got.
Swing Time: Hot Violin and Cool Accordion with Paul Anastasio and Ken Olendorf Cassette: Swing Cat 1499
	Swing Cat engineer Rus Davis, generally acknowledged to be the brains of the outfit, had a brainstorm one day. "Why not," he reasoned, "put two of the most misunderstood instruments in swing, the violin and the accordion, together on a recording?" After all, what could be more confusing to listeners than this pairing? The violin, usually associated with highbrow symphonies or, under its hillbilly alias of fiddle, foot-stompin' hoedowns, hooked up with the accordion, an instrument that travels with a polka band-sized load of oom-pah-esque and certainly un-swinging expectations in the eyes of the public. Rus knows that it isn't what "axe" one plays but how it is swung that counts, and thus was born the distinctly swinging musical pairing of Paul Anastasio on violin with Ken Olendorf on accordion. Their sonic romp covered a lot of territory, ranging from uptempo swing barnburners to ballads and tangos, with a haunting Sons of the Pioneers western number thrown in for good measure. Check out the menu: Perdido Polka Dots and Moonbeams Jalousie All of Me River of No Return Sweet Lorraine My Romance Avalon Sunday Adios Muchachos Stars Fell on Alabama Rose Room Estrellita Don't Get Around Much Anymore Over the Rainbow It's Only a Paper Moon The Swing Cat says, "good thing I didn't get my tail caught in that accordion."
Paul and Ray's Serious Swing Jam Cassette: Swing Cat 1496
	While jamming at the old-time fiddlers' contest in Weiser, Idaho in 1994, Paul was delighted to encounter the truly exceptional guitarist Ray Wood. Ray was at the time seriously wrapped around an old arch-top guitar and, one would swear, playing notes that hadn't been invented yet. Paul's return to the same swing jam session hours later found Ray wrapped still further around his guitar, which sounded as though it was about to burst into flame. To make a long story short, Paul grabbed his fiddle, they jammed till three in the morning, and the omnipresent Swing Cat made a note regarding the necessity of recording the pair. This was accomplished with the help of some vintage RCA 77-DX ribbon microphones, whose characteristic warm sound set the music industry standard in the 1940s. Paul and Ray laid down twenty great swing and western swing standards in two extended sessions, including a remake of two original tunes from Paul's LP with Joe Holley and Frank Hicks, a Joe Holley blues and one of Paul's more unusual compositions. This "four string" number employs a technique Paul borrowed from the playing of Joe Venuti wherein the bow is taken apart with the hair laid over the strings while the stick saws behind the back of the violin. This allows the performer to play three and four-note chords simultaneously. Venuti regularly broke up audiences with this uniquely difficult technique, and Paul and Ray pay tribute to Joe with this number. The other nineteen tunes aren't half bad either - almost an hour of spirited swing including a couple of tunes where Paul plays an octave violin, a violin with special strings giving it a range between a viola and a cello. The tunes are as follows: It's Only a Paper Moon Kansas City Kitty Give Me the Simple Life Bye Bye Blackbird Right or Wrong St. Louis Blues Joe's Blues Paul's Jive The Darktown Strutters' Ball Hang Your Head in Shame Opus One Chinatown, My Chinatown Bring It on Down to My House, Honey Am I Blue? Green Eyes Misery How Come You Do Me Like You Do? Blue Skies How High the Moon I Want To Be Happy It's Only a Paper Moon (reprise) Solid playing and a spirit of serious fun pervades this recording venture, with Paul's fiddle soaring over Ray's rock-solid rhythm guitar. Swing Cat would almost take this one over a bowl of cream.