The rogueish Rod Stewart and pianist and bandleader Jools Holland have come together to pay tribute to the big band years.

Performing with Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, the pair present Swing Fever - a 13-track sparkling salute to the timeless songs of the big band years, reignited by two true giants of their craft . Swing Fever is set for release on February 23rd, 2024 on Warner Music.

For the first time, Stewart and Holland have united on record to share their peerless dexterity on a tribute to such truly great songs as 'Ain't Misbehavin’, 'Frankie And Johnny’, 'Sentimental Journey' and 'Lullaby Of Broadway’. The tracks were recorded at Jools' own studio in Greenwich.

Swing Fever is the culmination of a conversation between Rod and Jools that began in the pandemic years, and of Rod's dream of making an album of the songs that were, in many ways, the rock 'n' roll of their day.

Sitting down together, Holland recounts: "I was just packing up to go away for Christmas, and you rang me. We hadn't really spoken at any length before. I thought 'I love Rod, how exciting,' and you said 'I want to do a record.' I'd been a fan of Rod forever but we realised with the old music that we liked a lot of the same things."

"I'd already started making a swing album, but it didn't turn out how I wanted it," explains Rod. "It was more Frank Sinatra than it was Louis Prima, let's say. So I cancelled that, and then I realised the guy I should go to is Jools. Also, our fanatical model railway enthusiasm bonded us together. So we started recording."

The first track to be released is a superb working of show tunes ‘Almost Like Being In Love’ - written by Frederick Loewe, and made famous by Frank Sinatra & Nat King Cole.

"I didn't really know that song, but it's one of my favourites now” comments Jools. “I looked up the different versions of it, and there are loads. What we try and do is get to the essence of it. If there are lots of complicated chords, we get rid of those and just play the simple ones".

Over roughly a dozen collective sessions, the intimacy of the recording space combined with the enduring brilliance of the songbook to create a sound that's immediate and dramatic– and it sounds live because that's what it was.

Complimenting the musicians on the tracks Stewart says: "I've got to give credit to Jools' orchestra, and especially the drums [Gilson Lavis] and bass [Dave Swift],"

He continues: "Gilson is the nearest thing I've heard to Charlie Watts, in being able to do a backbeat properly. Great band, and this man Jools with the old piano. Steaming! And his brother Chris on the Hammond (organ). The orchestra rehearsed them a couple of times when I wasn't there, then they went in and did three a day, which is quite remarkable. Jools' studio is so small. It's ok if it's a three-piece band, but we had 18 pieces in there at one time. It just unites everybody.”

Swing Fever is available on Black Vinyl, Colour Vinyl, CD & Digital - pre-order here. Swing Fever is billed for a February 23rd release next year.

Swing Fever Track list:
1. Lullaby Of Broadway
2. Oh Marie
3. Sentimental Journey
4. Pennies From Heaven
5. Night Train
6. Love Is The Sweetest Thing
7. Them There Eyes
8. Good Rockin’ Tonight
9. Ain’t Misbehavin’
10. Frankie And Johnny
11. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
12. Almost Like Being In Love
13. Tennessee Waltz