Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five - Crazy Rhythm (2004)

The Campus Five's second recording!

Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander are Los Angeles' finest in small group swing and one of the most danceable swing bands in the world. We have traveled to London, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Cleveland, San Diego, Denver to play for Jitterbugs of all stripes, Lindy Hop, Balboa or Shag.

Don't dance? That's ok, although you'll probably want to after hearing this record.

The band delivers again with a whole new album of rare and unqiue tunes, and always danceable. Starting with the classic small group sounds of the Benny Goodman Sextet's "Six Appeal" and the Artie Shaw Gramercy Five's "Hop, Skip and Jump," the album also features some of the lesser-known small groups of Harlem in the 40's - the Cootie Williams Sextet "Honeysuckle Rose", Illinois Jacquet's "Jacquet in the Box" and Hot Lips Page's "Bloodhound". Hilary swings Peggy Lee tunes "Somebody Loves Me" and "Why Don't You Do Right", and Anita O'Day/Gene Krupa tunes "Massachusetts", "Boog It" and "Drum Boogie", the latter featuring vintage drummer extraordinare Josh Collazo. Jim Ziegler lends his voice to Cootie Williams "Gotta Do Some War Work". The Campus Five really rips it out on our versions of "Crazy Rhythm" (inspired by tap dancer Gregory Hines) and "Dark Eyes."

The album was recorded by vintage audiophile Dick Hamilton at his studio, the Doing, using vintage RCA 44 microphones to capture the traditional sound of classic small group swing. "Jammin' the Blues" features Los Angeles' best swing musicians, including Tenor Saxophonist and Clarinetist Albert Alva, Trumpeter and Vocalist Jim Ziegler, Pianist Christopher Dawson, Bassist Jim Garafolo, and drumming phoneme Josh Collazo.

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Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander is the nation’s premier swing dance band. Showcasing the small-group sound of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, the Campus Five is the most danceable swing band anywhere. The 7-piece Campus Five captures the true sound of the Swing-era, with all the energy and excitement that inspired millions to dance. Influences include the Benny Goodman Sextet, Artie Shaw's Grammercy Five, Count Basie's Kansas City Six, and the Harlem-based small groups of Illinois Jacquet, Cootie Williams, Coleman Hawkins, and Hot Lips Page.

Both founders (Hilary and Jonathan) have been dedicated Swing dancers for over 20 years, and the relationship between Swing music and Swing dance informs all aspects of the Campus Five. Song selection, tempo, song length and feel are all chosen with danceability in mind. The Campus Five’s albums are favorites of Swing DJs and Swing Dance Instructors all over the globe. The Campus Five have been featured at many of the premier Swing dance events around the world, and are known for their unparalleled competition music, which inspires dancers to new heights.