swing
what it is
Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. Swing uses a strong anchoring rhythm section which supports a lead section that can include brass instruments, including trumpets and trombones, woodwinds including saxophones and clarinets or stringed instruments including violin and guitar; medium to fast tempos; and a "lilting" swing time rhythm. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise a new melody over the arrangement.
✦ start here: albums
✦ who's making it, level by level
level 1 · mainstream
the pop everyone knows
level 2 · the door
big names with a sharper edge
level 3 · one step out
cult favorites and indie darlings
level 4 · further
art pop, hyperpop, and the underground
level 5 · all the way
deep experimental
✦ make swing a playlist
turn these 35 artists into something you can press play on.
✦ nearby genres
questions
What is swing?
Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. Swing uses a strong anchoring rhythm section which supports a lead section that can include brass instruments, including trumpets and trombones, woodwinds including saxophones and clarinets or stringed instruments including violin and guitar; medium to fast tempos; and a "lilting" swing time rhythm. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise a new melody over the arrangement.
What are good swing albums to start with?
Try Michael Bublé by Michael Bublé, Rock Swings by Paul Anka, Songs for Young Lovers by Frank Sinatra, and Hot by Squirrel Nut Zippers.
Who are some women making swing?
musicisforgirls.com/genres/swing/girls lists women, non-binary artists, and bands with women making swing, from mainstream to underground.
genre notes from last.fm listeners · artists and albums from last.fm, updated 2026-10-20