The AIR is in reruns this week as we prepare for our holiday programming, which starts next week.  But you can hear tracks from our next gift suggestion in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide at 3 PM on The Swing Shift.

You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

If you have someone your shopping list who loves great Swing Music, then you need to introduce them to Jack’s Cats.

Swing clarinetist and saxman Jack Malmstrom and his Cats recently stepped out of the late 1940s and arrived in present day Los Angeles to the delight and occasional bewilderment of vintage jazz fans and swing dancers. The Cats are grateful to maintain a very active schedule holding forth for audiences amused to discover their performances overflowing with hand-picked standards, forgotten gems and Jack’s Cats original tunes. The show’s not all on the bandstand though — The Cats always attract a friendly, enthusiastic dance crowd.

Earlier this year Jack’s Cats released their album, The State of Swing, and it’s a real treat for anyone who likes great Swing music. You can order a hard copy, which makes it much easier to wrap, from CD Baby.You get fourteen all new original swing tunes by Jack’s Cats, plus a bonus track if you download it from Bandcamp. At 3 PM Wednesday, you can hear the title track open The Swing Shift.

“The State of Swing” is just one of the new original Swing compositions on the album, which you can download HERE. Listen to The Swing Shift for a special offer if you’re going to be in the Southern California area. Meanwhile, see what Jack says about the new album:

What is the state of this music we call swing? Seeking new expression, art constantly evolves, expanding outward, exploding into countless new styles. But are fresh ideas only to be discovered in uncharted territory? What might result when the creative search for The New is focused within a past genre? Our ongoing exploration of a style we call “Pre-Bop” — when jazz was popular music — led to this collection. These all new, original compositions are performed in a more-or-less mid-century style, but be prepared for a surprise or two.

We hope you’ll discover what we have: The state of swing is alive, exciting, intelligent, danceable — and fun!

You can order The State of Swing by Jack’s Cats from the links above.