Album Notes

A member of the so called Greatest Generation,Kijana was born at a time when jazz was the most popular music around. Seventy eight percent of all recordings purchased were jazz and the big bands ruled the earth."Music meant fun during those days" explains Kijana."Everyone just wanted to party after the war and dancing to the sounds of a live big band is what we lived for".Kijana began his musical career in a movie house at the age of six.It was the moment he heard the song "It had to be you",which was featured in one of the movies."The period was so rich with great songs and great bands" recalls Kijana,"by the time I reached nine years of age I had learned all of the songs of such legends as Roy Brown,Billy Eckstine,Johnnie Ray,Frankie Lane,Arthur Prysock,and of course Frank Sinatra."We were all into Billy Eckstine and Sinatra"."I had all of their mannerisms down and knew their entire song books"."It was a golden age".
Kijana recorded for Pzazz records just after leaving the Navy.Several of his orgionals were recorded, released,and could be heard on the radio along with all of the other great crooners of his generation.After the closing of Pzzaz records and a major decline in the popularity of big band recordings Kijana decided to produce his own recordings."All I could think about was preserving the music" explains Kijana."When I heard Jimmy's band said to myself""this is the band for me""."Kijana sings and swings takes us back to a time when jazz was king and big bands ruled the earth.With the release of Kijana sings and Swings we now have something to hold on to."This music is more important now then ever before" adds Kijana.