Earl Swope: 11 Tracks on Trombone

With the arrival of bebop in 1946 and the proliferation of independent record labels, trombonists seemed perfectly positioned to take on the new music. Perhaps it was the fluidity of the instrument's slide. Whatever the reason, a surging number began to emerge from the big bands to master the modernist form. [Photo above of Earl Swope]

The list included J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Bill Harris, Eddie Bert, Urbie Green, Frank Rehak, Frank Rosolino and a pair of brothers named Rob and Earl Swope. Today, I'm focusing on the latter, the older brother by four years.

Earl Swope was born in Hagerstown, Md., in 1922, and by the time he was 19, he had begun playing in some of the best bands in the country. Among them were Boyd Raeburn (1943–'44), Georgie Auld (1945), Buddy Rich (1945–'47), Woody Herman (1947-'49) and Elliot Lawrence (1950-'51) before working freelance in small groups. Throughout this period, he was a sideman on ensemble sessions.

As you'll hear, his style was relaxed and intense with a pronounced and confident attack.

Here's tenor saxophonist Al Cohn on Swope from Ira Gitler's book Swing to Bop: An Oral History of the Transition in Jazz in the 1940s:

Guys [like Swope] from Washington, D.C., had their own kind of thing. Different from anybody else. Had their own way. The way Earl played. Maybe it's just Southern. That relaxed thing that they had. The thing about Earl was, in addition to all of that, Earl was really a virtuoso on a trombone. I mean he could really play that horn. He was one of the first cats that really could get around on the horn. That was before I heard J.J. I don't know. Jay was probably doing it then, too. But I remember hearing Earl playing duets, and he'd be reading treble clef. Be playing trumpet duets. And you know, he was a whiz. I think he was more influenced by Lester Young than by Dicky Wells.

Ira also spoke to pianist Lou Levy about Swope for the book: Earl Swope would probably be the equivalent on trombone of what Al Cohn was on tenor.

The tragedy that befell Earl is the same that hammered his brother, Rob: Heroin addiction. Like many bop musicians during the late 1940s, heroin became popular once they heard how Charlie Parker played. If heroin worked for him, they wanted in on that creative energy level. A sad scene that killed off way too many budding stars.

While Swope had a powdery sound akin to J.J. Johnson's, it's important to remember that he recorded first. Johnson didn't record until a year later. Earl Swope died in 1968 at age 45.

Here are 11 tracks featuring Earl Swope on trombone:

Here's These Foolish Things in June 1945, with the Emmett Carls Sextet Featuring Lennie Tristano, featuring Marky Markowitz (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Emmett Carls (ts), Lennie Tristano (p,arr), Chubby Jackson (b) and Don Lamond (d)...

Here's Slumbering Giant on a session led by Sonny Berman in January 1946, with Sonny Berman and Marky Markowitz (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Al Cohn (ts), Serge Chaloff (bar), Ralph Burns (p), Eddie Safranski (b) and Don Lamond (d)...

Here's the effervescent T and S in March 1949, with Terry Gibbs New Jazz Pirates (also known as the Stan Getz All Stars), featuring Shorty Rogers (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Stan Getz (ts), George Wallington (p), Terry Gibbs (vib), Curly Russell (b) and Shadow Wilson (d)...

Here's Stan Getz Along in May 1949, with the Stan Getz Boppers (also known as the New Sound Stars), featuring Earl Swope (tb), Stan Getz (ts), Al Cohn (ts,arr), Zoot Sims (ts), Duke Jordan (p), Jimmy Raney (g), Curly Russell (b) and Charlie Perry (d)...

Here's Stan's Mood from the same session...

Here's Slow from the same session...

Here's Fast from the same session...

Here's Mary Ann McCall singing Until the Real Thing Comes Along in February 1950, with Mary Ann McCall (vcl), acc by Red Rodney (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Al Cohn (ts), Gerry Mulligan (bar), Al Haig (p), Curly Russell (b) and Jeff Morton (d)...

Here's After I Say I'm Sorry from the same session...

Here's Earl's Pad in June 1959, with Louie Bellson and His Big Band, live at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas...

And finally, here's Ho-ba-la-la in October 1962, Swope's final jazz recording session. He has a short solo toward the end that's beautiful. The group: Earl Swope (tb), Charles Hampton (as,fl), Joe Byrd (g,b), Charlie Byrd (g), Keter Betts (b), Bill Reichenbach (d) and Willie Rodriguez (bgo)...