Swing Jazz Music Revival on Way to Weston June 28
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on June 05, 2024
Swing music – the danceable jazz popular in the 1930s & 40s – is making a comeback, and a Morgantown-based jazz musician plans to lead the trend in West Virginia.
Isaac Viars, a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan’s jazz program who also has a masters in jazz studies from North Carolina Central 
University, has organized The Swingside Jazz Band, a quintet of young West Virginia jazz artists, each sharing a mission to take swing music to the masses.
University, has organized The Swingside Jazz Band, a quintet of young West Virginia jazz artists, each sharing a mission to take swing music to the masses.
“Live swing has a storied place in American music history,” said Viars, referencing what’s called “The Swing Era” of jazz music. [See note below.] “It’s music that lifted people’s spirits during tough economic times and in a time of war. It’s special music, and when you know it when you feel it,” said Viars in an interview from his Viars Music Studio office. “The Swingside Jazz Band wants to offer this music to the community.”
The Swingside Jazz Band will debut Friday, June 28, in the Listening Room in Weston, where St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has repurposed part of its West Hall social hall into a music venue with 60 seats and room for a dance floor. Doors open at 7:30pm with the live music starting at 8pm.
Joining Viars, who plays trombone, is Tyler Persky, on vocals and trumpet, Jon DiGuilian on guitar, Greer Lambert on drums, and Lars Swanson on bass. Mason Atha will also be playing bass when available. Each of the band members has close association with West Virginia Wesleyan, West Virginia University and the music education community statewide.
The set list for each performance will include upbeat, lively and familiar tunes, plus some ballads. Arrangements are inspired by artists such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington. People will recognize many of the songs from movies and television productions. The venue will be set up to accommodate both listeners and dancers, and those who enjoy both.
“Our seating close to a low-level stage is inspired by the former Music On Main venue in Bridgeport,” explained Eric Spelsberg, a project planner. “We prioritize great sound, stage lighting and unobstructed sight lines.”
The Listening Room is a project of the West Virginia Jazz Society, Inc., supported by the Lewis County Community Foundation and the Vince Lewis Jazz Scholarship Fund, with a cooperative agreement with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to schedule programming in West Hall.
“We liked the venue’s central location,” said Viars. "It’s just two miles off Interstate 79, and less than an hour from Morgantown, Elkins, or Glenville, so our potential market can find us easily.”
Advanced reserved seating for the show is $20 per person. There is a BOGO deal available for student/adult ticketholders. Text or call 304-517-9813 for additional information, or email to: WVJazzSocietyNOW@gmail.com. To reach Viars about engaging The Swingside Jazz Band, email to: ViarsMusicStudio@gmail.com.
Editor's Note: Swing music, also known as swing jazz, emerged in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It gained national popularity from the mid-1930s onward. The term “swing” refers to both the rhythmic drive of jazz music and specific jazz style that dominated between approximately 1935 and the mid-1940s—a period often called the swing era.
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