Jonathan Stout, leader and acoustic and electric guitar Hilary Alexander, co-leader and vocals
with: Albert Alva, tenor saxaphone and clarinet Jim Ziegler, trumpet Chris Dawson, piano Wally Hersom, bass Josh Collazo, drums
and our regular guests:
Hal Smith, drums
Carl "Sonny" Leyland
Russ Reinberg, clarinet
Daniel Glass, drums
Richard Geere, piano
Barry Anthony, trumpet
Jim Jedeikin, tenor saxaphone
Sounds Like
Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Ella Mae Morse, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Lester Young, Cootie Williams, Duke Ellington
"This is no tired tribute band or museum piece trying to sound hip, but a group of young musicians enthusiastic about playing this music and not dissimilar to what one would likely have heard at any club or dancehall in the mid to late '30's. Fans of the Golden Age of Jazz will want to check this out. Highly Recommended!”
- Ted Gottsegen, Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, February 2004
"I think both The Campus 5 and Jonathan Stout's Big Band are the two of the finest swing bands we have today, not only because of Jonathan Stouts commitment to the art and his appreciation for the era, but also because Mr. Stout has that rare connection to the dancers that comes from being a dancer himself and a pretty good one at that, he knows what keeps our feet moving and he gives it to us with style and grace."
"Sailor Mike" Mizgalski- Swing Dancer, 2006 National Collegiate Shag Champion
"Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five are one of those few bands on the scene today that may proudly wear a medallion that says, 'Real Jazz.'"
– Jeff Parker, host of “Parker’s Place” on KAAT-FM 103.1, and www.swingmusic.net
Campus Five
Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander is a septet dedicated to preserving the classic and often overlooked small group swing from the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. Founded by two dedicated swing dancers, the Campus Five was a way to expose many dancers and listeners alike to some of the more interesting and under appreciated tunes from the swing era, while still being the most danceable band playing swing today. The Campus Five picks tunes from the books of notable small groups as the Benny Goodman Sextet, Count Basie’s Kansas City Six/Seven, Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five, as well as the small groups of Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Cootie Williams, Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington, and Coleman Hawkins, and features vocal numbers from Ella Mae Morse, Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee and the young Ella Fitzgerald.
The Campus Five have released two albums, 2003's "Jammin' the Blues" and 2004's "Crazy Rhythm." Both records sold out of their initial runs, but are now in stock again. Both records feature 21 tunes, over 70 minutes of music, all of which is danceable - in fact, swing dance teachers all over the world use our CD's in their dance lessons. Due to popular demand, our third record, "Moppin' and Boppin'" was released in 2007 and available now.
The Campus Five has traveled the world to play to eager swing dancers. We have played at the London Balboa Festival (UK), Hawaii Lindy Exchange (Honolulu), the San Francisco Balboa Festival, DCLX (Washington, DC), and two years running at the All Balboa Festival (Cleveland). The Campus Five has played at jazz festivals, such as the Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival and the OC Classic Jazz Festival, and many municipal festivals, such as the Culver City Music Festival, the Ventura Music Festival, the Ventura Lemon Festival, and the Lake Gregory Summer Concert Series. The Campus Five was featured on an episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show, which aired 2/14.05.
Jonathan Stout Orchestra
November 2004 saw the debut of the Jonathan Stout Orchestra, featuring Hilary Alexander, a 15-piece big band. Promoters demanded an up-sized version of the Campus Five and we were happy to deliver. The JSO is exciting and explosive, foregoing the nostalgia of familiar, sentimental material and focusing on killer-dillers and lesser known and unique tunes, while still be being the most danceable big band around. The JSO is true to the original Swing era, and exclusively uses vintage stock arrangements and transcriptions of vintage recordings. The musicians of the JSO are Los Angeles’ finest practitioners of Swing, not studio musicians on just another gig. The JSO's book consists of tunes from the great jazz bands of the Swing Era, with little attention to the "sweet" bands of the day. Included are tunes mainly from Count Basie, Benny Goodman Gene Krupa, and Artie Shaw, with other numbers by Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Dorsey, Erskine Hawkins, Harry James and Jan Savitt. Some of our signature and rare tunes include arrangements from the 1939 and 1942 Metronome All-Star bands. Our theme song, Artie Shaw's "Man from Mars", was never recorded commercially, and was transcribed from an un-issued 1938 radio broadcast.
The JSO opened the 2007 Midsummer Night Swing Festival at Lincoln Center (NYC), and has played at the All Balboa Festival (Cleveland), three years running at the Rhythmic Arts Festival (San Diego), the Balboa Rendezvous (San Diego), and Swing in the Colony (Atascadero).
Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five's Friend Space (Top 19)
Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five has 188 friends.
Just listened to Moppin and Boppin yesterday. I actually was thinking that if I just played all your CD's from start to finish at Lindy by the Bay people would think I'm a fabulous DJ and I could dance every song!! I should just do a "Sorta Live Campus Five" Lindy by the Bay.
Big NYC greetings and thanks from two of your many fans here...see you soon I hope. June/Akron definately, and you know you'll see Joe sooner than that...Fondly, Heidi R
You're the man! Thanks for the request and I'm really looking forward to playing again with you soon! I'm off to Europe tomorrow for 10 days, I'll come back with some good stories for you.
