Duke Heitger and his Swing Band: Rhythm is Our Business

Considered a “secret weapon” by former Squirrel Nut Zippers frontman Tom Maxwell on that band’s best-selling 1996 album, Hot, 32-year-old freelance trumpeter Duke Heitger has finally made a home for himself. Backed by his very own swing set, bandleader Heitger-who, by the way, is pursuing a graduate degree in geology at the University of New Orleans-unearths 16 rare swing and Dixieland tunes on his debut album, Rhythm Is Our Business.