In this, the heyday for "retro-swing" performers like Cherry Poppin' Daddies and The Brian Setzer Orchestra, it's rare to meet someone who has clear recollections from the original swing era of the thirties and forties, that tumultuous period when jazz became America's major popular dance music. It's rarer still to speak with a musician who played a pivotal role in the development of jazz at that time, and who has continued to perform, compose an...