If you’ve ever wondered where the classy swagger in early rock ’n’ roll came from, check out jump blues, a dazzling mutant form of jazz that packed swing’s sophisticated raucousness and the razor-sharp wit of blues storytelling into compact, catchy songs. Every Friday morning, you can hear practitioners like Louis Jordan, Big Maybelle, Wynonie Harris and Ruth Brown on Pete Wilson’s WXNA radio show Nashville Jumps. But if you’d like to hear it in person, look no further than Eight O’Five Jive. The East Nashville ensemble fronted by Lee Shropshire just released a brand-new full-length called Swing Set, which includes a take on Rudy Green’s “My Mumblin’ Baby” (released in 1956 on Nashville’s own Excello Records) and 10 originals that address contemporary themes without stepping on the genre’s timeless winking, double-entendre-laden style. Whether your boogie shoes are blue suede or patent leather, get ’em laced up tight. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Eight O'Five Jive
