Here is a link to the song Don't Play Me Cheap by Louis Armstrong:
What year was this song recorded, and what jazz style is it? Is it swing? Or, is it before the swing era?
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According to discogs, "Don't Play Me Cheap" by Louis Armstrong was recorded on April 26, 1933, and released a little under a year later, on April 4, 1934. Discogs also lists the song as being of the Jazz genre and Swing style. This recording date and style pairing seem to align with the Swing music Wikipedia page, which states that Swing started in the early 1930's.
In addition, the song itself, specifically the beginning and end, sounds like Swing to me, or at least an early version. According to the Louis Armstrong discography site there were eleven people including Armstrong on the recording, whereas a big band once Swing became popular a few years later would usually include at least a dozen people. Obviously that's only a difference of one, and likely, once Swing became incredibly popular, bandleaders would have been able to hire more members. In fact, scrolling down on the Louis Armstrong discography site, the vast majority of Armstrong's recording sessions in the next few years included at least 14 people. That's probably when he got into the real swing of it. (See what I did there?)
Because of the way it sounds, the slightly smaller band, and the fact that it was recorded a couple years before Swing got big, I think it's safe to conclude that it's an early Swing song.
