About This:
My nine piece swing band, The Peter Hostage Situation, made this CD, “Swingin’ The Blues” in 2004. This is a recording featuring a stellar cast of some of the Boston area’s best musicians. The songs have a decidedly swing/jump blues flavor with some New Orleans spice thrown in. The band is: Paul Marcantonio, drums; Blake Newman, Bass; Richard Gardzina, tenor sax; Sean Berry, tenor sax; Pat Loomis, alto sax; Jeff Hoyt, trumpet; Bobby Gallegos, trumpet; and Russell Jewell, trombone. The Tracks: 1. “Whammer Jammer” is the J.Geils Band blues harmonica rave-up arranged for six horns. This is the only cover on the CD, attributed to Juke Joint Jimmy. 2. “Back To Boston.” Not enough songs about Boston. This one’s rockin’ jump blues. Richard takes a solo. 3. “Wrap Around Shades.” Wrap – around bass line. Pat solos. 4. “Small Talk.” It’s about not knowing what to say. Easy swing. Written to sound like a Cole Porter standard. 5. “Raggedy Ann.” New Orleans groove, my tribute to Huey Piano Smith. 6. “The Rest Of My Life.” Soulful with a slow-mid tempo swing. Pat is awesome on this one. 7. “Everybody Was Hangin’ Out.” Another rockin’ tune, with crazy dream lyrics. Richard and Bobby solo on this one. 8. “Blue-Eyed Blonde.” Straight R&B groove like Ray Charles Atlantic era. My wife is a blue-eyed blonde. 9. “That Train.” Another one with a N’awlins groove. Jeff Hoyt solos. 10. “Swingin’ The Blues” An instrumental track where everyone gets to blow. 11. “The Blue Zone” A big-band style slow blues like Basie.