Upea jatko..Good Time R&B and Rock`n`Roll. By Robin Weathersbee

So here’s Jiving Jamboree Volume Two.

I’m delighted to have been invited back to choose another set of great dance records and this collection will prove to be just as popular as the first.

With some all-time classics like Larry Williams’ Slow Down and The Treniers’ Go! Go! Go! interspersed with the more obscure, such as Romp And Stomp Blues by Mercy Dee and Big John Greer’s Bottle It Up And Go, this CD has something for everyone.

Recorded between 1947 and 1957, there is a wealth of variety in this collection but all the tracks have one thing in common – that irresistible dance beat. And this music is about to get the widespread recognition that it deserves. Across the pond, in the land of rock’n’roll, there’s a massive revival of interest in swing and vintage R&B.

New bands like the Brian Sezter Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are selling millions of records and the clubs are full of jiving hepcats. They say it’s the big new thing. It’s simply a long overdue return to the fantastically exciting music and dance that has long been overlooked in America. When double million sellers, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies came to London late last year, I was lucky enough to be invited to DJ at their press launch. They give the music a new twist that reflects their own roots in punk but they have a big sound and it’s great to see mainstream interest in this much-ignored field.

Jiving Jamboree 2 comes out at a time when even the Gap TV ad includes Louis Prima’s Jump Jive And Wail, when the swing and jive clubs in the US are so crowded that they are turning people away and when Europe is itself on the brink of an explosion of Jumpin’ Jivin’ and Wailin’!

Get this CD and prepare to wear out your shoes!

(Robin Weathersbee runs Maddy’s, one of the top jive schools in the UK. For details of his classes and club dates contact him on tel: 0181 566 5226)