Cab Calloway was a bandleader who fronted his big band not with an instrument, but with his lively personality and antics as he sang and danced around the stage. Cab’s band was hired as a replacement for the Ellington band at the Cotton Club, but soon became the co-house band with Ellington. He would be the quintessential figure to model after if you want to know how to dress 40s style, in a zoot suit and fedora (though he doesn’t wear those in the clip to come).
Here, in the movie Stormy Weather (1943), he sings “Jumpin’ Jive”, and the Nicholas Brothers come centrestage for one of the most amazing tap routines I’ve ever seen.
Many often only think of Fred Astaire with tap from the era, and when I mention, “the Nicholas Brothers”, and people draw a blank stare. To me, the Nicholas Brothers are amazing for what they presented – a raw and more energetic way of tapping, and while entertaining, never cheesy. They have the amazing hands when they tap as well, something that Fayard still had when I had the chance to watch him sing on stage, in Herrang Dance Camp 2004 (Sweden). I am fortunate enough to have had a chance to meet the legend, have a quick chat with him, and of course have a picture with him, before he passed on in Jan 2006. To learn more about the Nicholas Brothers go to - http://www.nicholasbrothers.com/index.htm
