Patuxent CD-221 Rusty Mason - The Music, the Dance and the Romance

This CD recalls the days of the Swing Era, the music created in the 30's and 40's. Whether experienced live in a dance hall, from a "78" on the Victrola or through a radio broadcast, it became a vehicle that would uplift us from the very difficult world we lived in, namely the unsettling years of World War II. Swing music became the music of our youth.

As with all things, both music & dance are constantly evolving. The square dance gave each partner a turn with each of the others. Dance was still a communal thing, but as the twenties moved into the thirties, dance became more intimate. The fox trot, one step and two step are all examples of this. Now there was one man, one woman, holding one another closely on the slower turns, moving out and in on the faster numbers. The music followed or led each of these changes, where love and marriage became an integral part of the music and the dance. As the music moved, so moved the dancers, all maturing during the Swing Era.

I invite you to open the case, put on the disc and transport yourself to a simpler time that was, in many ways, just as complex as our world is today. Imagine yourself in a dance hall, or seated next to an old am radio with your family. Close your eyes and soak up every note. Focus on one instrument, the rhythms, patterns and the dance between the musicians, who like dancers, react intuitively to each other's phrases, voicing and notes. Most importantly, enjoy the music, swing music, the stuff that love, marriage & families were made of and made with. Rusty Mason