SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

BY RICK FOSTER



FOXBORO - If the ultra-hip swing stylings of southern California's Big Bad Voodoo Daddy weren't enough to make Sunday's Showcase Live audience nostalgic for the days of ballroom kings and big bands, they needed only to watch the phalanx of young Jitterbuggers twirling the dance floor with more passion John Travolta's Tony Manero ever imagined.

The band worked its brassy and relentlessly uptempo magic with the all-ages crowd, interspersing its original tunes based on Jazz Era grooves with tunes from Cotton Club immortal Cab Callaway and soon had the floor filled with whirling, dipping swing dancers. With the band's tribute album to the aforementioned Callaway scheduled for release in April, Voodoo Daddy had listeners as well as dancers on their feet.

The group also pleased "Daddy" afficionados with favorites off its previous records including "Mister Pinstripe Suit," "5, 10, 15 Times I Love You" and other tunes that are as catchy as they are shamelessly based on the big band era.

Formed in 1989 by Scotty Morriss and Kurt Sodergren, the band still tours with all of its original members including Kirk Shumaker on double bass, Andy Rowley on baritone sax, Karl Hunter, sax; Glen Marhevka and Tony Bonsera, trumpets; Joshua Levy, piano, and Alex Henderson, trombone.

The band, which has three CDs on Capitol records to its credit as well as an appearance at the 1999 Super Bowl, hasn't lost its sense of a good time and may be reaching a new peak at a time when nostalgia and swing dancing are gaining momentum in America's music culture.