I’m In The Mood For SKA?

Ever hear of Lord Tatamo and The Skatalites?

…Or The Administrators

How about I. Roy & The Heptones? 

All three are popular Jamaican Ska bands that recorded fresh and totally original versions of Jimmy McHugh’s I’m In The Mood For Love.

Ska music originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s mixing Caribbean Calypso sounds with American Jazz and Rhythm & Blues, paving the way for Bob Marley’s brand of Reggae. 

While all three groups are Ska through and through, each gives this McHugh gem their own unique twist. 

I’m In The Mood For Love, as performed by the mighty Lord Tatamo and The Skatalites, sticks closest to the traditional Ska sound. 

The Administrators offer an inadvertent tribute to The HiLos, a 1950s acappela jazz quartet that took their name from their extreme vocal range.

Last, but definitely not least, the I.Roy & The Heptones’  treatment conjures the spirit of Louis Prima & Keely Smith.

All three interpretations are absolutely amazing.

Links to the three tracks are below. All are definitely worth a listen.

Lord Tatamo and The Skatalites

The Administrators

I Roy & The Heptones

What happens when Hot Jazz meets Western Swing?

The Austin-based Hot Club of Cowtown have to be the most globe-trotting, hardest-swinging Western Swing trio on the planet. They have played stadiums opening for such artists as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and bring their brand of western swing to a wide range of festival audiences all over the world.

Jimmy McHugh’s Diga Diga Doo is just about the most perfect example of 1920’s Hot Jazz.

On tour Hot Club of Cowtown give a show-stopping performance of the tune.

We’ve unearthed a clip of HCC absolutely knocking Diga Diga Doo ‘out of the park’ on BBC Television's Later with Jools Holland, Wonderfully eclectic music program.

We hope you’ll take a minute to click the link below to hear Jimmy’s iconic hot jazz classic and discover Hot Club of Cowtown.

http://hotclubofcowtown.com/

A Moment of Reflection: 9/11 and The Twin Towers

A couple of days ago we saw something on television that we at Jimmy McHugh Music would like to share with you.

MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell featured a three-minute montage of the many cameo appearances made by the Twin Towers in films directed by such world-class filmmakers as Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and Sidney Lumet to name but a few.

The short was created by New York filmmaker, Dan Meth, as a unique and fitting tribute to the memory of the thousands of people lost that day.

We hope you’ll take three minutes to view this moving and sadly beautiful tribute.

Twin Tower Cameos from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

thelastword.msnbc.com