Sabertooth Swing: “Songs Of Future Past” (2020) CD Review

Sabertooth Swing is a swinging jazz band based in New Orleans, playing music designed to get folks celebrating and moving on the dance floor, selecting songs from among the standards and beyond. The band is made up of Dan Ruch on vocals and trumpet, Alex Canales on saxophone and clarinet, Chris Butcher on trombone, Romain Beauxis on guitar, Spike Perkins on bass, and Robert Montgomery on drums. Their new release is titled Songs Of Future Past, that title reminding me of the Moody Blues album Days Of Future Passed (the first Moody Blues album I ever purchased). And, you know, there is a touch of blue to the music on this disc. But it is still a whole lot of fun.

Songs Of Future Past opens with a totally delightful and seriously cool rendition of “Frankie & Johnny” that grooves and swings, and features some excellent work from the horn section. Seth Bailin joins the group on saxophone on this track. Dan Ruch delivers an enjoyable vocal performance, taking the job of the narrator of the story, a narrator who seems to be intimately acquainted with the characters, and takes a bit of joy in relating the tale. “Oh people, this story ain’t got no moral/This story sure ain’t got no end/This story just goes to show you/That there ain’t always good between the women and men.” The band follows that with a couple of Irving Berlin numbers, the first being “Blue Skies,” a song which has a tremendous amount of appeal in these dark and twisted days. Sabertooth Swing opens this rendition with a wonderful instrumental section. I love this group’s approach to this song. They make some interesting choices throughout, particularly on percussion. As is most of the country, I am looking forward to blue skies, and must believe that they’re coming soon. “Those blue days, all of them gone/Nothing but blue skies from now on.” The second Irving Berlin song is “How Deep Is The Ocean,” and these guys likewise open this one with a sweet instrumental section that features some nice work from guest musician Ryan Hanseler on piano. This version gently swings and has such a great feel about it. The lyrics are mostly a series of questions, yet there seems to be no uncertainty in the mind of the singer. In the second half of this rendition, Ryan Hanseler has a chance to lead, and delivers some wonderful work.

These guys take us from Irving Berlin to Tom Waits. Does this band know how to make a great transition or what? “Chocolate Jesus” is a blues tune from Tom Waits’ 1999 album Mule Variations. It’s a great song, and Sabertooth Swing does a fantastic job with it, clearly having a good time. And “You can pour him over ice cream for a nice parfait” has to be the best line about Jesus ever written (although “It’s best to wrap your savior up in cellophane” is pretty damn good too). They follow that with a traditional jazz number, “Lawn Boy.” Okay, I’m kidding. This one comes as a delightfully surprising choice, the title track from Phish’s 1990 album. But of course Phish had incorporated certain elements of jazz into that album, and Sabertooth Swing, while playing a lot of standard numbers, is known for mixing in other material. For example, the band opened its 2018 album with a cover of The Kinks’ “Alcohol” (another excellent choice). The horns work so well on “Lawn Boy.” It seems they should have been there all along. Interestingly, a horn section did appear on one track of Lawn Boy, just not this one (for anyone wondering, it was “Split Open And Melt”). This disc then concludes with “Atlanta Blues,” its only instrumental track, a tune written by W.C. Handy. This version features some really nice work from the horn section. Though, actually, it is not quite the end. There is a seventh track, which just a bit of goofing around in the studio.

CD Track List

1. Frankie & Johnny
2. Blue Skies
3. How Deep Is The Ocean
4. Chocolate Jesus
5. Lawn Boy
6. Atlanta Blues

Songs Of Future Past was released today, September 4, 2020 through Slammin Media.