Swing into the season with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

If clothes make the man, think what they can do for the music.

The well-suited members of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy return to the region as part of their Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party Tour on Wednesday, Dec. 2. As leaders of the retro swing revival in the 1990s, the group has been spreading the sound and style of the era for more than 20 years.

Now the group, which hit it big with uptempo numbers like “You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight” and “Go Daddy-O,” rocks in the holiday cheer. For the past 10 years the band has been celebrating the season with Christmas tours, and over that same time the group has recorded two holiday albums. Audiences can expect songs off those releases, as well as some of the band’s most popular tunes.

“Our style of music is really conducive to Christmas stuff. That big band swing is pretty classic,” said Glen Marhevka, the band’s longtime trumpet player who goes by the nickname “The Kid.”

Founded by lead vocalist Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has maintained its core lineup throughout most of its career. That includes Marhevka on trumpet, Dirk Shumaker on double bass, Andy Rowley on baritone saxophone, Karl Hunter on saxophones and clarinet and Joshua Levy on piano and as arranger. Joining them on tour are Anthony Bonsera Jr. on trumpet and Alex Henderson on trombone.

“Each guy was handpicked along the way as the band was expanding and growing,” said Marhevka, on a brief break from the road at his Los Angeles home. “We picked some great guys; everyone gets along really great. We all share a unique musical vision. We’re really lucky that way, I think we have a special comradeship. I think for some reason we have a special bond.”

Like many of his bandmates, Marhevka got into swing and big band music when he was young – listening to greats like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett. He played in school bands and then in college. The timelessness of the sound, he said, is what brings him and all the other fans of the genre back.

“I think it’s a great American art form. It’s complex music; it sounds great,” Marhevka said. “Jazz started in the early 1900s. You can hear the evolution of jazz to the modern day. People are still pushing the art form. There’s an energy that draws people to it. You say, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ That’s why people are always attracted to jazz and swing.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s role in the resurgence of the genre started in the early ’90s. The group landed a residency at The Derby nightclub in Los Angeles, where they caught the eye of then fledgling filmmaker Jon Favreau. He included the group, and the swing revival sound and style, in his 1996 indie hit “Swingers.” But Marhevka said the group never intended to be trendsetters.

“We were trying to do music we loved and a style of music we all grew up listening to,” he said. “It wasn’t popular; it wasn’t the cool thing to do. We’d play a club and people would stare at us and have no idea of who we were. Back then they’d run to a pay phone – because we didn’t have cellphones – and go call someone. So new people would show up the whole time. So we started getting this word-of-mouth thing going. So it wasn’t planned; it just happened.”

The craze culminated with an appearance at the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show in 1999. Still, for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy swing was never just a fad. The group continues to tour heavily and perform nationally on everything from “The Tonight Show” to “Dancing with the Stars.” They also plan to start work on a new album of material in January, ready for release later in 2016.

Though it all, band members have maintained that signature, stylish look from the ’40s and ’50s.

“Originally we just wanted to dress stylish. We wanted to take the music seriously and also dress seriously, not just show up in T-shirts and jeans,” Marhevka said. “We wanted to present it in a cool, classic way. We want to be like something you see on a cool Dizzy Gillespie, wearing killer pinstripe suits, looking cool and sounding amazing.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Swing into the season with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy."