The Frankie Sixes Keeps Malaysian Swing Jazz Scene Alive With Debut EP

Written by Sukhbir Cheema

The Frankie Sixes Keeps Malaysian Swing Jazz Scene Alive With Debut EP

Do you enjoy swing jazz music and dance? If that’s the case, you’re in for a treat!

The Frankie Sixes, a Malaysian swing jazz band, is releasing their first extended play (EP) of original swing jazz pieces. The band has planned a four-day launch event at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre from May 18th to May 21st, 2023, to commemorate the release.

The Frankie Sixes debut EP Tepuk Amai-Amai.

The EP, co-written with bandmate Hin Ee Jeng, has five original swing jazz tracks and was recorded and engineered at R.M.P Studios by Rozhan Razman. Reza Salleh, established independent singer-songwriter, vocalist, and band leader of The Frankie Sixes, Che Wan on double bass, KJ on drums, Eddy Lim on saxophone, and Isaac Marvin on trumpet, comprise the band.

But wait, there’s more! Tepuk Amai-Amai, the EP’s first song, is already available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, and is accompanied by a collaborative music video featuring Lindy Hop swing dancers from around the world.

Reza directed the film, which contains 105 dancers who took their own footage and were edited by Singaporean Lindy Hop dancer Andrew Lin. It’s available on The Frankie Sixes’ YouTube channel.

The EP launch event will take place on May 20, 2023, in connection with World Lindy Hop Day, and will have an open dance floor where you can show off your swing dancing abilities to live music! There will also be Lindy Hop clinics on May 21 to keep the swing dancing movement alive.

The story behind the creation of The Frankie Sixes.

*The Frankie Sixes performing at BoboKL. IMAGE: The Frankie Sixes.*

The band’s name was inspired by a dance move devised in the 1930s by Frankie Manning, one of the founding fathers of Lindy Hop in the United States of America.

Reza’s involvement in the Kuala Lumpur swing dancing culture influenced the formation of The Frankie Sixes. He saw that a group of Lindy Hop dancers would get together every Friday for social dancing, which was usually conducted at a dance studio and was accompanied by a swing jazz music mix that played all night.

Since their debut in 2017, The Frankie Sixes have performed live particularly for the swing dance community on numerous occasions, enhancing the overall experience of the dancers.

Dancing to live music was formerly a rare delight for Malaysian swing dancers. To experience that, one would have to fly to another country!

However, The Frankie Sixes are now keeping the swing jazz culture alive in both music and dancing. They hope that their EP will add to the Malaysian songbook and become standard not only in Malaysia but also in the region and beyond.

So mark your calendars and get ready to swing with The Frankie Sixes! Tickets for their EP launch event are available here, and their single “Tepuk Amai-Amai” is accessible on major streaming platforms.