Dave Stephens Swing Orchestra
Swing Out (1998)

Review by: Chelan David
Date: 6/1/03

In the summer of 1998, the Dave Stephens Swing Orchestra was anything but obscure - at least in the great metropolis of Kansas City. Five nights a week the band performed at various venues in the area and hipster twenty and thirty-somethings flocked to the shows.

My girlfriend and I used to catch at least one performance per month. Swing was king and Dave Stephens, the group’s lead singer, was the emperor of cool. Dashing, in a tuxedo and black and white wing-tips, he sipped martinis and mingled with the hotties in the crowd. Occasionally, the orchestra would be in full swing with no frontman while Stephens was busy making time with a starlet at the bar.

Alas, Dave Stephens and his cohorts soon turned into poster boys for VH1’s "Behind the Music" series. Rumor at one bar was that Stephens had arrived late at one too many shows. Somewhere else the gossip was that the manager was sick of the singer jerking around offstage while the band was swinging away. Word on the street was the rest of the band was tired of playing second fiddle to Stephens. Soon the weekly gigs were down to a couple a week, although to this day they still play at various locales around Kansas City.

Fortunately, I had the predisposition to buy Swing Out, released in 1998. If you can find it, it’s a great CD to own. These guys are swing. Ten musicians performed on this album - including a washboard player - and they create a mix of jazz and doo-wop blended with a carnival-like symphony. Some of the city’s leading jazz players performed on Swing Out and for those of you not in the loop, Kansas City is known for two things: jazz and barbecue.

Covering such gems as "It Don’t Mean a Thing (if it ain’t got that swing)" and "Is You or is You Ain’t (my baby)" while also performing Stephens penned songs like "Unavoidably Blue" and "Better Than This," this album takes the listener to a different time.

No, not the 1920s, but a time in history when Gap commercials had a swing soundtrack, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Squirrel Nut Zippers ruled the airwaves and for a brief time the Dave Stephens Swing Orchestra had Kansas City swinging.