With revivalist zeal, the Stompy Jones band doesn’t just recreate, but breathes new life into the most jumping, rocking, and swinging small band music of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. The group returns to our stage performing songs from a long setlist, including some of the 14 titles on its first CD release in five years, “Sock It to Me!” Taking its name from a classic Duke Ellington tune, Stompy Jones has performed everywhere from San Francisco’s Top of the Mark to Disneyland. Big band leader Les Brown said that the sextet has “the best small band sound that I’ve heard in years.” Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010, Stompy Jones has had its music featured in films including “Deuce of Spades” and the award-winning short “All About Alice.”

The group, originally known as the Swing Session Band, was formed in 1998 to play East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop in the spirit of the hottest jump bands. Its repertoire features rousing revivals of classics by Louis Jordan, Earl Hines, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Prima, Roy Milton, and John Kirby as well as several originals. Stompy Jones boasts musicians who have been playing this music all their lives, with sizzling horns, slapping bass, and irrepressible dance drum beats. Hank Maninger plays guitar and belts and shouts the blues, with trumpeter Rob Dehlinger and saxophonist Jeff “Erv” Ervin trading riffs with boogie-woogie pianist John Cocuzzi. Drummer Lee Beary and bassist “Little David” Rose keep the rhythm section tight.