The
JSO's book consists of tunes from the great jazz bands of the Swing Era,
with little attention to the "sweet" bands of the day. Included
are tunes mainly from Count Basie, Benny Goodman Gene Krupa, and Artie
Shaw, with other numbers by Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Dorsey,
Erskine Hawkins, Harry James and Jan Savitt. Some of our signature and
rare tunes include arrangements from the 1939 and 1942 Metronome All-Star
bands. Our theme song, Artie Shaw's "Man from Mars", was never
recorded commercially, and was transcribed from an un-issued 1938 radio
broadcast.
The JSO was formed in 2004, when promoters began demanding for a big band version of 7-piece band, Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander. The Campus Five was formed in 2002, with the goals of being the most danceable band around and playing interesting and rare tunes that were overlooked by most modern bands. The Campus Five has played every major swing dance venue from San Diego to Santa Barbara, and traveled to London, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, and San Francisco. Besides swing dances, we have been featured at jazz festivals such as the Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival (4 years running) and municipal functions such the Ventura County Lemon Fest (4 years running) and the Los Angeles Music Center's Dance Downtown. The Campus Five has released two albums, "Jammin' the Blues (2003) and "Crazy Rhythm" (2004) to glowing reviews. In fact, both albums are favorites of top swing dance instructors around the world.