Difficulty Level: 2

Also known as "The Big Apple Contest," this is a swing dancer staple and a must-have for any band that will ever play for swing dancers! After the famous simple intro a brass trio work plays off of a sax riff, and from there on it's simple burnin' riffs all the way home, with lots of great brass plunger work.

Swingin' on the Campus is an aggressive hard swinging tune jam packed with killer riffs and solo space. This simply-constructed piece is built on a variation of rhythm changes and is a difficult level 2 because of the relatively high tempo and brass endurance.

As standard dance repertoire, Lindyhopper's Delight is a catchy riff tune with a startlingly modern middle chorus that features some relatively harsh sax harmonies flanked by thickly-voiced plunger-supported brass hits. The final chorus is a raucous one, even though the brass are in full octave unison on a concert Bb! This is a great tune for any library though, and a good, albeit sometimes tricky, introduction to plungers for younger brass players.

This upbeat Hodges/Ellington piece is a variation on the old nursery rhyme The Farmer in the Dell. After a statement of the melody, it's all solos with background riffs until the melody comes back at the end. Swinging in the Dell is a very simple solo vehicle that's great for getting dancers on the floor!

Dancing on the Stars is a catchy head arrangement that features some nice counterpoint, solo backgrounds, sophisticated harmony compared to many other pieces from the Hodges/Ellington book.

This obscure tune swings along with great riffs and colorful ensemble moments. I Know What You Do is a bit more chromatic than other level 2 Ellington pieces, but it all fits nicely together.

Gene Ammons preaches on in Brother Jug's Sermon, a soulfully grooving dance tune that now fully features bari sax. The horn backgrounds are simple enough--a couple of horn turns and a few suggested high notes in the bari make this an easy level 2. Swing music has never been so hip!

Junior Hop is a nice walkin' alto feature with some simple but melodic three-part backgrounds. The trio takes over for a bit on a catchy new melody built on strong triads. The trombone part is a little on the high side for a Level 2 (up to high A).

The lead trumpet part here is tough for a 2 but overall this is an easy grooving arrangement that is one of the few swing era vocal charts to feature the singer fully throughout the form. Peggy Lee's cool performance on this recording brought the tune to a new height, with a swinging even-tempered arrangement to contrast and support her. The lead trumpet part here is almost a 3, but otherwise this is a solid 2. Vocal range is Bb3 to A4/C5.