HopMonk Sonoma presents CW Bayer

In CW Bayer’s own words:

For the sake of brevity, I often call what I play, “old school swing song.” The longer explanation is that I sing some “Tin Pan Alley” standards from 1900 to about 1950. By “Tin Pan Alley” I mean music created by the songsmiths of the progressive era in ragtime, early jazz and related pop music. They explored march/swing rhythm and syncopated lyric while using harmonies that often relied on the cycle of fifths. This style came to its ultimate end in 1965 as the “troubadours” and “minstrels” of the folk revival came to be called “singer songwriters”. My father and his father had a long history singing the Tin Pan Alley style. The songs I sing will sound familiar to many people, even those not fully aware of the history.