I've been looking into swing since Captain Swing posted his 'All the Work's Done Waltz.' I believe there are three main principles.

If you have two eighth notes, put half a dot on the first one. Shave half a dot off the front of the second one. This is easier to do when you are not looking at the sheet music which tells you to play them the same.

To really learn the tune, listen to your fellow band members who have already mastered it. We can hear and imitate complex rhythms easier than we can read them.

Do this to the melody, not the bass part. Dancers need somebody to play the rhythm straight so they can dance right.