A hep cat dressed in his blaring zoot suit and matching fedora calmly approaches a lovely young lady. "Would you care to dance?" he asks as the bandleader preps the orchestra for the next song. The fair damsel agrees, and the couple sails across the dance floor as the powerful horns of the band blast Louis Prima’s "Jump Jive An’ Wail." The couple is soon joined by countless others, all hypnotized by the majestic sounds of swing. Have the threads of time been shredded, allowing a view of a swinging dance club of the 1940s? Actually, this scene can be seen in ever increasing numbers throughout the America of the 1990s. Swing music has returned in a flood of popularity, and a whole new generation of dancers is being introduced to this wonderful genre. Although vintage swing music and the sounds of the ’90s revival possess many similarities, such as instrumentation and dance atmosphere, they are two distinct types of music. The edge, origin, and language of ’90s swing clearly distinguish it from its predecessor.

The instrumentation and basic musical style of both original and modern swing are naturally similar. Brass instruments provide the primary driving force of a swing band. Trumpets and saxophones play the melody and improvise solos while trombones harmonize and furnish lower counterpoint. Certain other instruments, such as a clarinet or guitar, are occasionally added for extra flavor. A rhythm section consisting of a piano, string bass, and percussion lays the foundation. The music itself features either upbeat, infectious rhythms or sweet, blissful melodies. Couples are lured onto the dance floor by the wonderful swing sound, the basic premises of which have not been altered with the passage of time.

Not only has swing music become the latest retro craze, but also the entire swing culture has been revived. Cocktail and cigar bars, practically extinct since the first half of the century, have returned in full force and become the perfect locale for the new swingers. The young dancers have discovered the flashy attire of the era and now display it with pride. Males don bright zoot suits, suspenders, wide ties, and fedoras. Females sport flirtatious dresses that rise easily as their partners swing them around the floor. This re-creation of the classic swing atmosphere greatly adds to the time warp effect one receives when witnessing the swing revival for the first time, and makes the two swing eras seem one in the same.

Although the swing of the 1990s has much in common with its ancestor, upon close inspection many subtle differences are revealed. The music itself has been heavily influenced by rock and roll, particularly by the "alternative rock" of the early nineties. Electric guitars now take the spotlight more often and contribute more than mere chord progressions. Rhythms and melodies are much more complex than the pure and simple sounds of the past. Rock-influenced ’90s swing displays a gritty edge that has been very effective in attracting the younger crowd that once firmly believed swing music was only for their grandparents.

The vastly different origins of the two swing eras provide an interesting insight on the media culture into which this country has evolved. The big band swing of the early 1900s slowly developed out of New Orleans jazz over the course of several years. The invention of the radio greatly aided in spreading the music throughout the country, and in maintaining its huge popularity through the late 1940s. The revival of swing has been gradually building since the early 1990s, but one television commercial for the GAP featuring khaki-clad swingers zealously frolicking to the tune of "Jump Jive An’ Wail" has turned swing into a national craze. Struggling bands previously unheard of were suddenly "swung" into national prominence. The ability for one commercial to so greatly affect an entire nation’s culture is remarkable, and the difference between the time required for swing to first gain national attention and for it to rise once again some fifty years later is astonishing. It remains to be seen whether new swing is here to stay or if it will share the same fate as many recent pop culture trends.

Perhaps the most notable difference between old and new swing is the language of the music, both in band names and lyrics. Names have been updated to suit the times. In days of old formulated fictional names were practically unheard of. Simply naming the group after its leader was the much more common practice, as in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Although this method is still used occasionally, as in the Brian Setzer Orchestra, bizarre names such as Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Squirrel Nut Zippers have become the norm. Song lyrics have also changed dramatically over time. Lyrics of old swing songs were "G-rated," containing very trite messages about lost sweethearts or inspiring the war effort. Again borrowing from the rock artists of the current period, new swing lyrics are much more daring, with alcohol and drugs being a common theme.

Personally I love swing music, and take great pride in the fact that I enjoyed listening to it before it was popular again. The swing revival has only served to further my fascination with this hybrid subclass of jazz. There is a uniquely American feeling in swing that has remain unchanged even as the music itself has evolved in such areas as tonality and language. It is a feeling of eternal optimism that pervades the true American soul. The wonderfully diverse American musical experience could never be considered complete without including swing, the music of our ancestors and, most hopefully, our descendants.