Fig. 2: Mean swing ratios of soloists as a function of tempo.

Each point corresponds to a piece of the Weimar Jazz Database²⁹ and represents the soloist's averaged swing ratio as a function of tempo. A quadratic fit to the data (gray line) as an indicator of preferential swing ratios reveals an increasing trend as a function of tempo up to 160 bpm and a decreasing trend above 160 bpm. The swing ratio of most soloists lies below 1.5, thus is much smaller than generally believed, and does not correspond to a triplet feel (i.e., swing ratio 2:1).