Swing Shift Big Band

For more than a decade, the SWING SHIFT big band orchestra has been entertaining the Washington Metropolitan area with swing classics from the 40’s to the popular ballads and jazz hits of today.

SWING SHIFT has become a fixture of the summer concert series in Fairfax Country and appears regularly around town at many top-line venues including Blues Alley and the Birchmere.

Founded in 1994, SWING SHIFT was the brainchild of Fairfax trumpeter extraordinaire Garry Henson.  Having played professionally in the area since he was 13, Garry was a veteran of local jazz groups including the Post Nuclear Jazz Society, The Kingsmen and the Bob Lewis Big Band.  As the big band and swing revival of the early 90’s blossomed, Garry assembled 17 musicians with the aim of creating the premier swing band in the region.  SWING SHIFT was born.

From its beginning SWING SHIFT attracted enthusiastic crowds eager to enjoy the unique ambiance that only a full sized big band can deliver.  Powered by five trumpets, trombones and saxophones, SWING SHIFT blew the roof off the local dance scene and helped the swing revival flourish.

Throughout the nineties SWING SHIFT rode a wave of popularity and was in high demand.  It’s first two CDs received favorable reviews in the local press including The Washington Post.  Their 1999 CD release party performance at Blues Alley featured two packed shows and marked the high water mark of the DC swing resurgence.  Not since the 40’s and 50’s had the music of Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington been so much in the forefront of the local entertainment scene.

Like all forms of art the arc of popularity ebbs and flows, and as the new century dawned the audience for big band and swing became more selective.  As the swing wave crested and began to recede many groups retooled and sought to catch the next popular sound.  SWING SHIFT persisted and has remained true to its core mission of keeping the wonderful sounds of a genuine big band alive in Washington.

More CDs followed, but there was no mistaking that swing music was in decline and following 9/11 there was a noticeable pull back in opportunities to perform as a country and area suddenly found itself at war and bands like SWING SHIFT worked harder to find an audience.

Patience and perseverance paid off for SWING SHIFT, and as time moved on a new generation of music lovers began to discover the unmistakable quality of big band and swing music.  Fueled by the emergence of Michael Buble and the ability of the Internet to introduce millions to alternative music, big band a swing is on the rise again.

In 2007, Matt Trimboli, the band’s veteran guitarist, became music director and a new look SWING SHIFT kicked into high gear.  Still with a core of its original lineup along with a handful of newcomers, SWING SHIFT remains the premier, and now one of the longest serving big bands in Washington.   With a massive book of music under its belt, look for SWING SHIFT in your neighborhood, and catch the unique experience that only a REAL big band can deliver.