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Playing this summer: Wild Cool & Swingin'

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 20, 2010 - HOME: All the guys in the band are from St. Louis, but all of us have played throughout the country at one time or another. I did a show called Trumpet Party in Amsterdam that was a blast! (no pun intended!)

AGE: Wild Cool & Swingin' started about 12 years on Wednesdays at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups.

INSTRUMENTS: We are a nine piece group - featuring Charlie B on the vocals ... backed by a four-piece horn section and keys, guitar, drums and percussion.

HOBBY: We all love listening to all kinds of great music.

LAST CONCERT I ATTENDED: Keyon Harrold - Jazz at the Bistro.

LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: My newest CD, "Brass Poison."

WHY I DO WHAT I DO: I love the joy that music brings to people - it allows them to escape from the real world for a short time and fills the soul with happiness

QUOTE: "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
--Hunter S. Thompson

PROFILE: Trumpet and flugelhorn player Jim Manley has many musical identities. In addition to being a founding member of Wild, Cool & Swingin' - which specializes in Vegas-style jazzy swing in the tradition of Sinatra and the Ratpack - Manley is also a member of the private-event band Fantasy. He also performs on a regular basis with the Charlie B Group, and can be heard as the lead vocalist of WC&S and Fantasy.

If that weren't enough, Manley also has a string of fine recordings as a leader available. His most recent CD, "Brass Poison," features swinging versions of everything from "Spooky" and "Rocket Man" to "I Feel the Earth Move" and "Grazin' In the Grass." Guest musicians include many members of WC&S, as well as guitarist Ernie Isley.

For more info on Manley's recordings, go to www.jimmanley.net .

HEAR THEM: Wild, Cool & Swingin' play from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28 at Lafayette Park (corner of Mississippi & Lafayette. The concert is free.

You can also hear Jim Manley in the Charlie B. Group every Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. at Jimmy's on the Park, 706 Demun in Clayton.

Terry Perkins is a freelance writer who has long covered the music scene in St. Louis. 

Terry Perkins is a freelance writer based in St. Louis. He has written for the St. Louis Beacon since 2009. Terry's other writing credits in St. Louis include: the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis American, the Riverfront Times, and St. Louis magazine. Nationally, Terry writes for DownBeat magazine, OxfordAmerican.org and RollingStone.com, among others.