A long and interesting conversation between Jonathan Stout and Denis Chang.

“Swing was the House music of the 1930s.” – Jonathan Stout

This is quite an audacious statement made by contemporary swing guitarist Jonathan Stout. (If you’re unfamiliar with House music, please refer to the note at the end of this page.)

This soundless video clip is from 1938.

I would guess that the average age of the people there was 22 years old, which means they were born in 1916. If any of them are still around, they would be 107 years old.

In other words, no one reading this has ever experienced anything like this:

Watching an ARENA full of young people dancing to jazz.

* House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago’s underground club culture in the early/mid-1980s.

– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube

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