News & Gigs
January 2010: Swingadelic has been featured in the Star-Ledger in a recent article by Zan Stewart:
The Hoboken-based nine-piece outfit Swingadelic is part jazz band, part party band, and brings everything from foot-stomping jump-swing to slow, gritty blues to life.
Led by bassist Dave Post, the group emerged as a vital member of the metro-area music milieu quite by chance. In 1998, when the swing scene was resurgent, Post had a gig in a pick-up group at the now-defunct Supper Club on 47th Street in Manhattan.
“During the break, an agent came into the dressing room, needing a different band for another engagement,” recalls Post, 54, a native of Elizabeth who grew up in Roselle Park and now resides in Hoboken. “I told him I had a band, even though I didn’t. He asked me what the name was and I just thought up, ‘Swingadelic’ “.
When Post did assemble the band, it clicked right away and worked a variety of top venues, including Windows on the World at the former World Trade Center. It also landed at Maxwell’s in 1998, when Post and his partners bought the famous rock club. Today, Post, who has been playing bass since he was a teenager, is still leading the nonet around the area. The group will appear Monday and subsequent alternate Mondays at Maxwell’s, Post’s musical and professional home — not that it really matters where the show is.
“Whether I’m playing the club or a wedding or a concert, the goal is the same: to have fun and have the people listening feel good,” says Post, who lives with his wife of 27 years and their 11-year-old son, a fledgling trombonist.
Swingadelic’s repertoire includes saxophonist Buddy Terry’s “Blues Everywhere,” which has a Count Basie-like groove; the riff-driven “Castle Rock,” from the band’s 2005 “Big Band Blues” album (MediaMix); the blues grit of “Kidney Stew”; the funky gospel air of Ray Charles’ “Swanee River Rock”; and Lennon-McCartney’s “Oh, Darlin’,” with a surging beat.
“I want Swingadelic to be more than just a jazz and blues band, to do songs like ‘Oh, Darlin’,” be able to work weddings and other solid-paying jobs,” says Post.
The group’s next album, its fourth, will be a shift from that approach, as Post and company focus on the music of a single jazz composer,
arranger and pianist: Duke Pearson (1932-80). Swingadelic will record such well-known Pearson selections as “Cristo Rendetor,” a hit for trumpeter Donald Byrd; “Jeannine,” made famous by altoist Cannonball Adderley; and “Sweet Honey Bee” and “Big Bertha,” both from the composer’s ace 1966 Blue Note album, “Sweet Honey Bee.”
“I love Duke because he’s a great but underrated writer whose tunes are really catchy and who’s a fine piano player,” says Post, who has also played such blues artists as Poppa Chubby and Joe Traino, and jazz artist Michael Pasqua.
Among Post’s regular colleagues in Swingadelic are saxman and vocalist Buddy Terry, bop-leaning tenorman Paul Carlon, trombonist and vocalist Neal Pawley, pianist John Bauers, and drummer Paul Pizzuti.
“These are all-around wonderful musicians and beautiful cats,” says the bassist.
As to his role on in the rhythm section, Post says he’s happy to be at the center of things. “The bass kind of keeps the band together, playing the rhythm and the fundamentals of the chords,” he says. “And I love the sound of it.”
Winter, 2008: Swingadelic has been featured in New York Magazine in the article They Rock All Night Long by Catherine Coreno & Kari Milchman.
“Whether they’re blasting out something classic from Count Basie or some new-school swing by Brian Setzer, the fourteen members don’t phone it in. “When they’re performing, you can tell they’re having a good time,” says Seth Abramson, artistic director for the Jazz Standard, who hired the band for his own wedding. The band’s been honing its craft for the past decade, playing dance festivals all over the East Coast, and appearing at the Big Apple BBQ as well as at a regular gig at the Hoboken jazz spot Maxwell’s. If your Lindy Hop is shaky, the group can set couples up with a dance instructor (starting at $250) for private, pre-wedding lessons (from $550 per musician, up to fourteen available; book six months in advance).”
August 25th, 2008: The band has two new tracks featuring vocalist A.J. Lambert. For those in the know, A.J. is Nancy Sinatra’s daughter and the granddaughter of Ol’ Blue Eyes. Check out our Samples page to hear it.
MediaMix Entertainment has just released our fourth CD, titled “Another Monday Night” It consists of original compositions and arrangements brought in by the band members plus one Duke Ellington 20′s era tune. It’s a great collection of swingin’ jazz & blues from our eleven piece band. All Swingadelic CD’s can be purchased at our gigs or thru CDBaby.com. Digital downloads are available at www.emusic.com and www.rhapsody.com.
Our four piece ensemble recently did a cocktail hour for a reception that will be featured on The Style Network’s “reality” tv show “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” Great job by party planners www.ohsofab.com.
The band just recorded a tune for a soon to be released film called “Play It By Ear”, starring Michele Hurd and Rita Moreno. We played an old 20′s era Duke Ellington composition called “The Gal From Joe’s”. Check out our audio page to hear it.
8/2/10 Another Monday night at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. These dates are subject to change, best to call the club at 201-798-0406 to be sure. We perform as an eleven piece “little big band” in the front room of Maxwells in Hoboken. Enjoy some swingin’ jazz & blues and check out the perfect wedding band. The usual suspects on this one are:
- Buddy Terry – alto sax/vocals
- Paul Carlon – tenor sax
- Audrey Welber – baritone sax
- Albert Leusink – trumpet
- Carlos Francis – trumpet/fleugelhorn
- Neal Pawley – trombone/vocals
- Rob Susman – trombone
- Rob Edwards – trombone
- John Bauers – piano
- Boo Reiners – guitar
- Paul Pizzuti – drums
- Dave Post – stand up bass
Alternate Mondays -no cover!
Maxwell’s
1039 Washington St
Hoboken NJ
201-798-0406
Upcoming Shows:
8/2/10, 9/6/10: Maxwell’s
8/14/10: Swing 46 – 349 West 46th Street New York, NY 10036-3816 – 9:30 pm – 1:00 am
8/22/10: Skylands Music Festival – Sycamore Park, Blairstown, NJ – 5:00 pm
8/26/10: Sinatra Park – Hoboken, NJ – 7:00 pm – FREE!
10/1/10: Hartford Swing Dance/Jam at West Hartford Town Hall – 50 South Main St, West Hartford, CT – 8:30 pm – $6 members/$7 non members
