Well done for getting into the swing band stuff. I work with quite a few of the big bands as a dep in Lancashire. I've been on DB for about 1 1/2 years. Previously played electric and studied violin. So some major retraining for DB. Mainly used Simandl for the shifts/bowing etc, and Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines books for the swing and ability to play in hard to read keys eg Ab minor. The thing is with the swing stuff you need to be fluent in all the keys up into the second octave, which takes some serious study for shifts and knowing your way round the fingerboard. Also I tend to play along on my iPod to swing stuff like Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Billy Holiday etc. it's great for your ear and style development. And it's good to pick out little riffs and solos from the other instruments and get more of a feel for the chords. If your doing swing you'll need to be able to busk. I've often put the wrong piece of music on my stand, or its fallen off or blown away. And the you need to wing it and use your ears. And when your playing with 16 or so players and a vocalist it might not be just you who makes a mistake! But I absolutely love it and intend to keep with the standards for many years to come, as there is so many ways these can be played, rehashed, different lineups of musicians etc.