In the mid-1930s, just as the jazz trumpet was becoming popular in the swing era, Erskine Hawkins formed his 'Bama State Collegians in Montgomery, Ala. The band would go on to create a new two-step swing that was more relaxed than the quickened tempos suitable for the Fox Trot and the Savoy Walk. Born in Birmingham, Ala., Hawkins started playing the dru…
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