Eight O’Five Jive

Swing Set

Red Rudy Too Tunes

Eight O’Five Jive are a jump blues band. Their first album was 2014’s “Too Many Men”. That album consisted mostly of covers of songs by Big Maybelle, Memphis Minnie, Clyde McPhatter, Peggy Lee, Etta James and Big Jay McNeeley. The arrangements by the band were fabulous.

On “Swing Set” we get to hear mostly original material written by the band. Eight O’Five Jive is Lee Shropshire, vocals; her husband Andy Scheinman, guitar and background vocals; Patrick Mosser, saxophone and background vocals; Bill Bois, bass; and Duane Spencer, cocktail drums. The new songs include the rhythm and witty lyrics of an era gone by and are appropriately named. This infectious music will have you dancin’ round the room.

Cocktail drums are a portable drum kit that combine a bass drum and a snare drum in a single drum; either this is true or Spencer calls his kit “cocktail drums” because when they are not being beaten on they double as a cocktail table. Three of the songs are served up with this theme in mind. “Make Mine a Double” is “inspired by a water glass with embossed cocktail-making instructions on it”. The other woozy tunes are “One More Glass of Wine” and my favorite “A Little Bit of Bourbon”. It’s the solos by the band however that complete these tunes. Mosser’s saxophone is terrific as is Scheinman’s guitar. The vocals by Shropshire are equally exciting; her annunciation, vocal phrasing, and overall tone are quite spectacular.

Other songs depict men as philanderers such as “Ragged”, “Back of My Hand” or “Watch Out for Their Wives”. The women are described as being strong as on “Never”, “Get Away” and “I Won’t Wear Flats (To Your Funeral)”. I’m not sure that’s a fair assessment of this era gone by or more a reflection on the world we currently live in. The only cover is “My Mumblin’ Baby” written, and recorded on Excello Records, by Rudy Green in 1956.

Just when you thought that jump blues was getting tiring along come The Eight O’Fives. They’re like a train; better jump on board.

Richard Ludmerer

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