Fats Waller - That Ain't Right

Available on EMusic, Amazon, and iTunes.

I think Fats Waller is still pretty popular right now for swing dancing--maybe due in part to Skye & Frida's ULHS routine from last year. The song they used, 24 Robbers, is available on the album "The Unique Mr. Waller," which has lots of other good dance tunes on it. I'm sure the tune is available elsewhere too--I'll let y'all dig around for it yourselves, if you haven't already.

I like Fats because his combo is good at laying back, relaxing, and then turning it on and jamming out. And of course, a lots of his songs are hilarious--take "Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister!" for instance, or "Your Feet's Too Big." Sometimes he sings quite sentimental material, and walks a fine line--hamming it up, but still delivering a sort of earnest performance. His solo "Two Sleepy People" is a great example of this.

"That Ain't Right" actually comes from a performance in the 1943 film Stormy Weather, which features an all-star line-up of performers, including Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and the Nicholas Brothers. If you haven't seen the film, check it out. You'll be blown away. Here's a clip:



It's not just that Fats sings silly songs, it's that his timing and rhythm are so perfect and so expressive. "That Ain't Right" is a great example, a slow, jazzy blues number featuring vocalist Ada Brown. Her voice has a commanding power and a great timbre. As she sings, Fats talks back to her and kind of draws her along. He's full of one liners and jive talk, of course ("Beef to me mama, beef to me! I don't like pork no-how..."), but what's really striking is how he fits it all in to the phrasing of the song, and makes it rhythmical. The give-and-take between Ada and Fats is funny and charming. I love the climax of the song, where Fats delivers the punchline (again, with perfect timing) and then the band comes in at a faster tempo.

Ray Charles - Rockhouse, Parts 1 & 2

Available on Amazon and iTunes.

This tune is in my top 3 LEAST favorite songs of all time. I'm not even really sure what the other two are--I'm just being conservative. It drives me nuts. I hate the groove, I can't stand the hits on 1 and 4 that just go on and on and on. It doesn't go anywhere, and there is no sense that the musicians are interacting at all--the rhythm section is really just backing the pianist the whole time, and I think they sound tired and mechanical and plodding.

I don't like dancing to this song, and I don't like the sort of dancing that this song pushes people towards (as far as I have observed). Since there's no give-and-take among the musicians, I think dancers tend to try to be "musical" with this song by just mimicking the most obvious rhythm in the melody. And the hits on 1 and 4 are so painfully strong in the melody, it makes the dancing choppy--and it makes me wince.

Rockhouse is also one of the most overplayed songs in Chicago, even at Fizz. Can y'all just lay off? Please? There's tons of other Ray Charles out there--he recorded for close to 60 years. What would you think of just leaving that cd at home for six months? Please?

Fizz setlist 10/20/2008

I had the late set for the first time tonight at Fizz. I'd gone all night (9 pm to 1 am) a few times before, but I'd never picked up at 11 and finished from there. Man have I got some stuff to learn about how to work the late night crowd. I just couldn't find the groove tonight--couldn't find a style and energy level that matched the crowd. A lot of people left around midnight or 12:15, and by 12:30 there were only two couples dancing.

Here's my setlist:

1. Too Close For Comfort - Dianne Reeves - Good Night, And Good Luck - 3:50
2. A Smo-o-oth One - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:16
3. Deacon's Hop - Ronnie Magri & his New Orleans Jazz Band - Shim Sham Revue - 2:39
4. Give My Regards To Broadway - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:37
5. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate - Muggsy Spanier - Vintage Jazz Volume 8 - 2:54
6. Come On Over To My House - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:52
7. Yes Indeed - Sy Oliver - Yes Indeed - 3:13
8. Hop, Skip And Jump - Engelbert Wröbel's Swing Society - Sophisticated Swing - 3:47
9. Solid As A Rock - Ella Fitzgerald - Swingin' Ella - 3:00
10. Bar Fly Blues - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:32
11. Send for Me - Nat King Cole - The Billy May Sessions - 2:38
12. A Man That Don't Want Me - Sippie Wallace - Sippie - 2:43
13. All Of Me - Helen O'Connell - Great Girl Singers, Sing 22 Original Hits - 2:09
14. Smooth Sailing - Ella Fitzgerald - Bluella: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Blues - 3:08
15. Six Appeal - Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander - Crazy Rhythm - 3:29
16. Fibre de verre - Paris Combo - Attraction - 3:39
17. Moten Swing - Oscar Peterson - Night Train - 2:55
18. Flat Foot Floogee - Ray Bryant - Swing Dance Special - 2:42
19. Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:50
20. Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:05
21. Roll With My Baby - The Eric Byrd Trio - Triunity - 4:00
22. At Long Last Love - Bill Henderson - Bill Henderson With the Oscar Peterson Trio - 2:30
23. Fever - Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith - Blue Bash! - 5:36
24. Southern sunset - Swing Parade South - Hommage a Sidney Bechet - 3:32
25. Keepin' Out A Mishif Now - Carling Family - 20th Jubilee - 3:32
26. Honeysuckle Rose - Katherine Davis - Dream Shoes - 3:14
27. Knock Me A Kiss - Ruth Brown - Fine And Mellow - 4:20
28. Squeeze Me - Della Reese - Song Book, Vol. 3 - 2:37
29. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18
30. Movin' and Groovin' - Sam Cooke - The Man Who Invented Soul - 2:53
31. Who's Making Love - Johnnie Taylor - Stax Gold - 2:50

Music with big breaks

Thanks to everyone who came out for Lindy 210 at the Galaxie today. We had a great time messing around with y'all. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, we would love to hear it. Email me or leave a comment below.

Here is a list of the music we used in class, plus some more tracks that have big, whack-you-over-the-head breaks. You should be able to find most of them on EMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes. Also, if you find the same song by a different artist, that version will probably have pretty good breaks too.

1. A Smoooth One - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 130 bpm
2. Deacon's Hop - Ron Magri and his New Orleans Jazz Band - Shim Sham Revue - 130 bpm
3. Potato Chips - Slim Gaillard - Laughing in Rhythm - 145 bpm
4. Shout Sister Shout - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 145 bpm
5. Honey Pie - Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Miss Thing - 150 bpm
6. Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird - Cab Calloway - Are You Hep to the Jive - 160 bpm
7. Everything is Jumpin - Artie Shaw -The Very Best of Artie Shaw - 165 bpm
8. Whistle Stop - The Swing Session - Stompy Jones - 165 bpm
9. Groove Juice Special - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1946 - 170 bpm
10. Jazz Me Blues - The Swingsations - Swingers and Novelties - 170 bpm
11. Hop, Skip and a Jump - Engelbert Wrobel's Swing Society - Sophisticated Swing - 175 bpm
12. The Flat Foot Floogie - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1946 - 175 bpm
13. We Cats Will Swing for You - Cats & the Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing for You - 175 bpm
14. Shortnin' Bread - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 190 bpm
15. Posin' - Jimmie Lunceford - Jukebox Hits 1935-1947 - 190 bpm
16. Jeep Jockey Jump - Glen Miller - Operation: Build Morale - 200 bpm
    

Setlist from Swing Noir at the Galaxie 10/18/2008

Lippy and Nicolle hosted a Roaring 20's-speakeasy-interactive-murder-mystery-swing dance last night at the Galaxie, billed as "Swing Noir: a night of dancing, death, and deception." A great, very well dressed crowd showed up to participate. The idea was to do the interactive murder mystery night, all while keeping the dance floor full--plus there was a performance and a solo Charleston contest.

I had a bit of a challenge as a deejay, because the night was supposed to have a strong 1920's/early 1930's atmosphere. Rather than playing a typical set, which might range from 1930's big band to 1970's piano trios, I wanted to stick with music that fit the theme. It was a delicate line to walk--keeping the music interesting while staying within the stylistic constraint. Admittedly, I ended up interpreting it pretty loosely--more that I just avoided musical styles that would have sounded very out of character. So no Gene Harris, no Glen Miller or other big name big bands (too associated with WWII era big band), no Oscar Peterson trio. I relied heavily on modern groups like Mora's Modern Rhythmists, who play in an early big band/1930's style. And in some cases I used later recordings of songs that are associated with early jazz--for instance, Dinah Washington's (1950's) interpretations of Bessie Smith's (1920's) hits. Here's my set:

(Starting off a few minutes before 10 p.m., as the Charleston lesson was ending.)

1. Charleston - Ken Gordon And Band - Charlestons "Yes Sir That's My Baby" - 3:02
2. Big John's Special - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:18
3. Dancin' With A Debutante - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town - 2:24
4. Them There Eyes - Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen - Trad Jazz Masters: Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - 2:57
5. Now Or Never - Katharine Whalen - Jazz Squad - 2:13 (This track did not fit the sound I was going for, but it definitely got a lot of people up and dancing.)
   
6. The Dipsey Doodle - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Call Of The Freaks - 2:58
7. Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong - Ken Burns Jazz - 2:24
8. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate - Muggsy Spanier - Vintage Jazz Volume 8 - 2:54
9. Putting On The Ritz - The Pasadena Roof Orchestra - Pasadena - 25th Anniversary Album - 3:12 (This track bombed.)
   
10. All Of Me/The Peanut Vendor - Dick Hyman Group Feat. Howard Alden - Sweet And Lowdown - 1:43
11. It's De-Lovely - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Give Me Your Telephone Number - 4:04
12. Keepin' Out A Mishif Now - Carling Family - 20th Jubilee - 3:32 (I haven't played this one in a while, and had forgotten how much I like it. It went over well.)
    
13. Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 (Just discovered this solid lindy hop tune.)
    
14. Shine - Dick Hyman Group Feat. Howard Alden - Sweet And Lowdown - 1:47
15. Five Feet Two, Eyes Of Blue - Creole Jazz Band - Jazz Del Bueno Para Bailar - 2:57
16. Savoy Blues - Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen - Trad Jazz Masters: Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - 3:53
17. Everybody Loves My Baby - Sippie Wallace - Sippie - 3:11
18. Georgia Cake Walk - Eddie Condon - We Called It Music - 3:06
19. Rockin' In Rhythm - Duke Ellington - Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick and Vocalion Recordings of Duke Ellington, 1926-1931 - 3:02
20. Easy To Love - Billie Holiday - First Issue: Great American Song Book - 3:03
21. Le Jazz Hot - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:44
22. That's A Plenty - Ella Fitzgerald And Bing Crosby - Bing Crosby With Ella Fitzgerald & Peggy Lee Featuring Fred Astaire - 2:23 (This is an interesting vocal version of That's a Plenty. It starts out at a moderate tempo, then gets really peppy at the end.)
    
23. Chicago Stomp - Jimmy Blythe - Boogie Woogie Blues - 2:44
    
24. Jazz Me Blues - Pete Fountain - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? - 4:42
25. Callin' Your Bluff - Mills Blue Rhythm Band - Mills Blue Rhythm Band: 1933-1936 - 3:00
26. Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard - 1938-46 - 2:38
27. Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:50
28. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats (Remaster) - 4:28
29. Trombone Butter - Dinah Washington - Dinah Washington Sings Bessie Smith - 3:34
30. Southern sunset - Swing Parade South - Hommage a Sidney Bechet - 3:32
31. Let's Misbehave - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - You Do Something To Me - 2:52
32. Dippermouth blues - Muggsy Spanier - Weary Blues - 2:29
33. I've Found A New Baby - Chicago Rhythm Kings - Mezz Mezzrow: Makin' Friends, 1928-37, Jazz Archives #72 (158042) - 3:11
    (Performance by Jenna's troupe of ladies, dressed rather nicely. Right after the performance, the lights went out, gunshots were fired, and Lippy was murdered. Gasp!)
    
34. All That Jazz - Banu Gibson - Vintage Banu - 2:55 (Yes, I was trying to be corny.)
    
35. Give My Regards To Broadway - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:37
    (At this point, Lippy took over for a while--now that he was dead, he could devote his attention to deejaying. Around 12:30, we had a solo charleston contest. 36 and 37 were used for the contest.)
    
36. Tiger Rag - The Firehouse Five Plus Two - The Firehouse Five Plus Two Story - 3:04
37. Ahma Fonda Rhonda - Firecracker Jazz Band - Firecracker Jazz Band Explodes - 4:14
    (I get the sense that the crowd is ready for something more relaxing. I like this next one because it's just so lazy.)
    
38. Careless Love - Harry Connick, Jr. - Oh, My Nola - 4:13
39. A Man That Don't Want Me - Sippie Wallace - Sippie - 2:43
40. How Come You Do Me? - Eddie Condon - We Called It Music - 2:51
41. Squeeze Me - Della Reese - Song Book, Vol. 3 - 2:37
    (Lippy, still dead, announces that people should cast their ballots as to who his murderer is.)
    
42. Sugar Blues - Clarence Williams - Boogie Woogie Blues - 3:40
    (The culprit is announced.)
    
43. Shake That Thing (Album Version) - Vince Giordano's Nighthawks - The Aviator Music From The Motion Picture - 3:00
44. Cheek to Cheek - Fred Astaire - Irving Berlin - A Hundred Years - 3:20 (I put this on by accident, and was surprised by how many people danced to it.)
    
45. The Mooche - Sidney Bechet - Blues In The Air - 3:09
    (Lippy takes over and finishes out the night.)
    

Clarence Williams - Sugar Blues

Available on EMusic, Amazon, and iTunes.

You might dismiss this as "mood music" ("Cosmo, mood music please!") but I beg to differ. I played this at the WCLX Saturday night late-night and people seemed to dig it and dance to it--I had several people come up to me to ask about what the title is.

Sure, it's certainly a "stretch" track, not something you play for a room full of beginners. To my ear it is both bluesy and janky, but it might take a more experienced dancer to be able to play with those elements. Another way I might describe it is that it's got a nice stroll to it. It's got a strong beat, even though it's just a solo piano, and it has lots of rhythmic character. (I guess that's the nerdy way of saying, it's playful--listen to the left-hand rolls around 2:35, kind of sounds like an elephant stomping around). I've used it as a cool-down track after an uptempo Charleston number, when I want to keep that feel going. Some dancers blues to it, some do a sort of slow Charleston, some swing out.

So what is it? If you follow one of the links, you'll see that it is actually a piano roll--as in, an automatic player piano--not a recording of a live musician. It was made by Clarence Williams, a jazz virtuoso whose heyday was in the 1920's. (I'm not really sure how piano rolls were created, whether there was a machine that could record every key press on a piano, or whether they punched the holes by hand to get it to sound just like a live performance.) Listen to this track and imagine yourself at a rent party or a bar somewhere in Harlem where the music was provided just by a stride piano player--people used to dance to stuff just like this!

Bio-blurb for Madison invasion

I'm djing at the Madison Invasion this coming November, featuring instructors Todd & Ronni from Denver. All the details and registration here. Come dance with me and Mary and our buddies from Madtown.

The Invasion folks requested a biographic blurb, and I ended up out-nerding myself by writing two. They used the first one, but I like the second one too. Here's both:


Bio 1:

James sometimes wonders what would have happened if his dad hadn't showed him that Count Basie album in fifth grade, or if he hadn't played it for his friends. Maybe his schoolmates would have thought he was cool, coach would have put him in the game for more than the last six minutes, that girl Megan would have agreed to go to the Homecoming dance with him, and he would have spent far less time in the library during college. But such is life. James began building up his DJ instincts as early as high school, becoming adept at calling shotgun so as to have total control over the stereo on every car trip. Since then, he has amassed an extensive collection of high-, medium-, and low-fidelity jazz, which he enjoys playing for dancers. He is thrilled when they complement him on his good taste, instead of complaining and insisting on listening to the same Dave Matthews bootleg for the fourth time. He lives in Chicago, IL with his wife Mary, deejays regularly at Fizz, Big City Swing, and other venues, and has no regrets.


Bio 2:

Though he prefers the more traditional if somewhat anachronistic term "disc jockey," James does not mind being called an MP3 monkey, for he knows in his heart of hearts who the real monkeys are. From his solitary perch in the DJ booth, he looks out at a floor full of dancers and thinks to himself, "Hahaha! Dance, my pretties! Yes! Swing out for ME!" before turning back to his music collection to pick out another song that will drive them into further gyrations and syncopations. He treats his pets well, exercising them regularly and feeding them a carefully selected, varied diet of smooth and bluesy vocals, janky uptempo tunes, and solid, swingin' big band music. He lives in Chicago, IL and enjoys feeding the animals at Fizz, Big City Swing, and other venues around town.

Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer

I just saw this interesting documentary about Anita O'Day. Unfortunately it just finished its short run in Chicago. Even more than just listening to her sing, being able to watch Anita perform is really captivating. She's very expressive, and a really commanding presence. I was surprised to see how bossy she was on the bandstand--she would count off the tempo she wants and her combo damn better well give her exactly what she asked for. The documentary isn't so much focused on relating all the biographical details of the singer's life--the details of her multiple marriages are mentioned but not dwelled on, and sometimes the timeline is pretty hazy. But it does give you a really good portrait of her personality, especially through the interview footage from late in her life.

And of course, there's lots of footage of Anita performing, dancing around with Roy Eldridge, tearing it up on television broadcasts and in concerts. Her rhythmic control and vocal nuance are stunning. Here is a clip of her (pretty famous) performance at the Newport Jazz Festival:



Here are a few Anita O'Day tracks that I play at dances now and again:
Honeysuckle Rose - Anita O'Day's Finest Hour - 3:16
Whisper Not - Anita O'Day and the Three Sounds - 3:00
Let Me Off Uptown - Roy Eldridge: Little Jazz - 3:25

Fizz schedule

I just got my time slots for Fizz for the next three months. Check out the 4th link down under "About Me" to see when I'll be spinning at Fizz and elsewhere.

Set list - First free dance at First Free Church

Phil Malinak and his wife organized a dance at their church last night--First Free Evangelical Church in Andersonville. I volunteered to DJ. The night was an interesting mix of folks there from the church, learning east coast for the first time, and some of the usual suspects from the scene. Actually, come to think of it the mix of scene people was pretty interesting too.

Anyways, having total beginners there with long-time veterans, it was tricky to strike a balance of music. At the start of the night, just after the six count lesson finished up, I tried to dig out as much beginner-friendly music as I could (yes, including In the Mood), which was more of a challenge than I anticipated. I've been pretty much focused on DJing at Fizz, which I think of as someplace that you can play more interesting, unusual, or challenging music and the dancers will appreciate it. So I tried to keep the tempos between 140 and 180, so that folks could do relaxed east coast. I think I leaned too heavily on 40's big band (actually, I think that's true throughout the night). After about an hour or hour and a half, most of the church folks had taken off, and I was left with the scene suspects, so I tried to branch out and throw more variety at people.

1. Gotta Be This Or That - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman '45 & '47 - 3:10
2. Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong - Ken Burns Jazz - 2:24
3. In The Mood - Glenn Miller - Ken Burns Jazz - 3:36
4. Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong) - Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 2:50
5. All Of Me - Della Reese - Cocktail Classics - 2:01
6. Yacht Club Swing - Fats Waller - Yacht Club Swing 1938 - 3:51
7. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 4:28
8. Dunkin' A Doughnut - Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy - An Anthology Of Big Band Swing 1930-1955 - 2:51
9. Solid As A Rock - Ella Fitzgerald - Swingin' Ella - 3:00
10. Hop, Skip And Jump - Engelbert Wröbel's Swing Society - Sophisticated Swing - 3:47
11. Hoodle-Addle - Ray McKinley Orchestra - You Came A Long Way From St. Louis - 3:21
12. Come On Over To My House - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:52
13. Take A Swing With Me - B.B. King - The Early "Blues Boy" Years - 2:35
14. Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Carrie Smith - When You're Down and Out - 3:35
15. San Francisco Bay Blues - Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band - Blues Over Bodega - 3:41
16. I'm Beginning To See The Light - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Summit (Disc 1) - 3:37
17. Teardrops From My Eyes - Ruth Brown - Rockin' In Rhythm - Best Of - 2:59
18. All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45
19. For Dancers Only - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:41
20. It's You Who Taught It To Me - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:42
21. Buzz-Buzz-Buzz - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:27
22. We Cats Will Swing For You - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:42
23. Meet Me in Uptown - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 2:59
24. Rock A Beatin' Boogie - The Deep River Boys - London Harmony - 2:34
25. Jump, Jive, An' Wail - Louis Prima - Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 5: Wild Cool & Swingin - 3:31
26. Papa What Are You Trying To Do To Me I've Been Doing It For - Randy Sandke - The Re-Discovered Louis & Bix - 3:49
27. When I Grow Too Old To Dream - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:47
28. My Blue Heaven - Stuff Smith Quartet - Swingin' Stuff - 3:46
29. In a Mellow Tone - Count Basie - Blues In Orbit - 2:40
30. It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing - Cootie Williams - Do Nothing 'Till You Hear From Me - 3:45
31. On Revival Day - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 3:16
32. Every Day I Have the Blues / Goin' to Chicago Blues - The Four Tops - Lost and Found: Four Tops "Breaking Through" (1963-1964) - 3:50
33. Sugar Blues - Clarence Williams - Boogie Woogie Blues - 3:39
34. Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42
35. Home To Mississippi - Otis Spann - Otis Spann: Best Of The Vanguard Years - 3:29
36. I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues - Duke Ellington - The Complete RCA Victor Mid-Forties Recordings (1944-1946) - 2:39
37. Shine On Harvest Moon - Pete Fountain - Pete Fountain and The Kings Of Dixieland - 2:52
38. Jambalaya Strut - Dr. Michael White - Dancing In The Sky - 3:46
39. Jive At Five - Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 2:51
40. Sugarfoot Rag - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Story Vol. 2 - 3:06
41. Six-appeal - Charlie Christian - Six-appeal - 3:20
42. Rockin In Rhythm - Duke Ellington - An Anthology Of Big Band Swing 1930-1955 - 3:01
43. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - Lou Rawls - Stormy Monday - 3:55

Upcoming DJ workshop at Big City Swing

Coming in November at Big City Swing, Dave "Lippy" Rentauskas and I are going to be offering a workshop for DJs and music lovers. Dave has done DJ workshops in the past that were mostly focused on technical stuff like how to use a mixer, but this one is going to be much more about finding good music, choosing the right track, and putting together a set. We're still working on exactly what topics we're going to address, but we want to make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible--not just for people who are already DJs and just want some pointers, but also for dancers who only know a little about the music they dance to, but are curious to learn more.

Here's the workshop details:

Who: James and Dave

What: Now You Has Jazz: Workshop for DJs and Music Lovers

When: Saturday, November 15th, 2-4 p.m.

Where: Big City Swing, 1012 W. Randolph, Chicago

How Much: $10 at the door (call it a suggested donation--if you can't afford $10, chip in what you can; if your mind is blown, tip liberally). No pre-registration necessary, though feel free to tell us that you're coming.

Why: Short version is, we love geeking out about jazz, and if you are interested too we would love to geek out with you. For the long version, see below.

What to bring: If you have a laptop or mp3 player with dance music on it, or a case of cds, bring them. Feel free to bring snacks too. And rootbeer. James loves rootbeer.

Another important note: Since we're still putting together topics, we are very willing to adapt the workshop to people's interests. If you're coming, feel free to leave a comment below, email me, or talk to me--if there are specific questions you have, things you wonder about, things you need advice about, we would be glad to address them.


The long version of why we're doing this:

A couple months ago, there was a DJ contest at Fizz, meant to give folks that were interested in maybe getting into DJing a chance to take a spin, get some fresh blood behind the turntables, and generally just stir things up a little bit. Fizz still definitely needs to add one (or more) new DJs to the roster, so it was very much meant to be a chance to discover new talent. Unfortunately for us Fizz regulars, the winner, Shannon, was only in town for a little while--now she's back in the San Francisco Bay area.

Sure it would have been great to have some local kid show up and blow everyone away with how awesome they are. Short of that, it would also be great if some incredible DJ from another scene just happened to move to Chicago because of their job. But I'm not holding my breath. I think our best bet to make sure that our scene stays strong and interesting is to start encouraging people who are interested and give them opportunities to learn and grow into strong DJs.

It's not a skill anybody learns over night, and I think as a scene we've been a bit negligent about providing opportunities. Many of the regular DJs in Chicago have been doing it for 5+ years (for example, Doug Hillman, Dave Rentauskas, Riley Wymes), and many are also dance instructors (Dave, Riley, Carl Linder, myself) so I think your average dancer may have the impression that its something like a professional gig that requires an advanced degree in lindy hop or something like that. It's definitely not. I think that being an avid dancer helps, but only because it means you'll be able to empathize with the people out on the floor--the dancers you're trying to keep happy. Really the skills required are 1) the ability to press "play" on a cd player or computer 2) ears for listening to lots of music and 3) eyes to observe how dancers react to what you play.

So I am eager to offer a workshop to try to stir up interest in the music we dance to, to start a conversation about things, share what I know, and learn about what I don't. Dave and I tend to have pretty different taste in music and different approaches to DJing, so the process of working together on this is definitely going to be a learning experience for us both. Hopefully hearing a range of perspectives will benefit others too.

Upcoming events

Man I'm getting busy on the turntables (okay fine, the mousepad) these days. Last weekend was WCLX. This coming weekend I'm djing at a free dance, not far from our apartment. It's at the First Evangelical Free Church in Andersonville. Details here. Join us! It should be low-key and fun, and did I mention that it's FREE?

Then in two weeks, on Saturday October 18th, I'm djing at the Galaxie for an event organized by Lippy and Nicolle called Swing Noir. It's a speak-easy themed swing dance and interactive murder mystery. More details, including on the characters you can play in the murder mystery, here. And here's the Facebook event page. I'm supposed to spin lots of 20's-style music, in keeping with the theme, so come prepared to do the charleston and the foxtrot and the black bottom and my personal favorite, the squirrel.

Also, for all of my groupies out there, the fourth link on the right-hand side of this page ("Events and DJ schedule") takes you to a calendar where you can see all of my upcoming gigs.

Fizz setlist 10/06/2008

10/6/2008, the day after WCLX, I spun from a little after nine until a little after eleven p.m. On the whole, an odd night, and certainly not my best set ever. It was pretty empty until about 10:15, and folks seemed pretty intent on conversation. Maybe everyone was just tired from a weekend full of revelry. Because of who was there, I started out trying to play "Boston-style" music--stuff you might hear at Monday night practice.

1. Exactly Like You - Alix Combelle - 1935-40 - 3:09
2. Drinking Wine, Spo Dee O Dee - Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy - Jukebox Hits 1936-1949 - 3:08
3. Summit Ridge Drive - Buddy DeFranco - Plays Artie Shaw - 4:35
4. Sent for You Yesterday (and Here You Come Today) - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 4:09
5. Hop, Skip And Jump - Engelbert Wröbel's Swing Society - Sophisticated Swing - 3:47
6. As Long As I Live - Ernestine Anderson - Never Make Your Move Too Soon - 4:40
7. Lavender Coffin - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 4: Midnight Sun - 2:47 (This got everyone going, finally.)
   
8. All Of Me - Helen O'Connell - Great Girl Singers, Sing 22 Original Hits - 2:09
9. I Want a Tall Skinny Pappa - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:52
10. For Dancers Only - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:41
11. He Ain't Got Rhythm (Jimmy Rushing, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:49
12. Big John's Special - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:08
13. Six Appeal - Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander - Crazy Rhythm - 3:29
14. It's Only A Paper Moon - Oscar Peterson - With Respect To Nat - 2:32 (The quintessential Mike Smith song.)
    
15. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - Lou Rawls - Stormy Monday - 3:55
16. Yes Indeed - Slam Stewart - Slamboree - 3:35
17. I Ain't Got Nobody - Ruby Braff & Ralph Sutton - For Dancers Only! (A Lindy Hop Compilation) - 3:52
18. Mack The Knife - Ella Fitzgerald - Mack The Knife: The Complete Ella In Berlin (Live) - 4:39
19. I Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:09
20. Everything Is Jumpin' - Artie Shaw - The Very Best Of Artie Shaw - 5:09
21. Twenty-Four Robbers - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:45 (By request.)
    
22. You Do Something To Me - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - You Do Something To Me - 3:25
23. Saint Louis Blues - Carrie Smith - When You're Down and Out - 2:42
24. Good Bait - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Swingmatism - 2:53
25. I'm Beginning To See The Light - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Summit (Disc 1) - 3:37
26. Ain't Misbehavin' - Sidney Bechet - Perdido Street Blues - 2:52 (This was a poor choice. Too exotic for the moment, when I was trying to)
    
27. Gimme A Pigfoot - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 3:09
28. Perdido - Duke Ellington - Sophisticated Lady - 3:08 (My wife doesn't like this song. I think she's in the majority. I'm in the minority.)
    
29. My Baby Likes To Be-Bop - Ella Fitzgerald - Swingin' Ella - 2:45
30. I Love Jazz - Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong - 4:39 (My DJ program hiccuped in the middle of this song, and skipped to the next song after only 2 minutes of Louis. Disappointing, particularly because it felt like there was a good groove building.)
    
31. We Cats Will Swing For You - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:42
32. Flying Home - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - The Fabulous Swing Collection - 2:53
33. Come On Over To My House - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:52
34. St. James Infirmary (LP Version) - Della Reese - The Story of the Blues - 3:59
    (Announcement about upcoming blues workshop with Don West & Tina Davis. Next song is a blues number, to put folks in the mood.)
    
35. You Just Usin' Me for a Convenience - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - A Long Way from Home - 3:45
36. Trombone Butter - Dinah Washington - Dinah Washington Sings Bessie Smith - 3:34
    (Lippy takes over.)
    

Setlists from WCLX 2008

This past weekend was the tenth installment of the Windy City Lindy Exchange. I did two sets over the course of the weekend. Both setlists are below.

I spun from 1 to 2 a.m. at the Saturday late night at the Galaxie. It was the first set of the night, so people were trickling in the whole time. By about 1:30 the floor was fairly full. I've never deejayed for an exchange late night before--I tried to weigh several different aspects of the situation, though I'm not sure how successful I was. For one, I thought I should keep the energy pretty high, so that people wouldn't get sleepy. Also, down the hall was a second room for dancing--the djs there were playing a very wide variety of tunes including blues, hip-hop, pop, and at least one Tom Waits track. Finally, considering that the deejayed music and band selections from the main dance on Saturday were pretty homogeneous (consisting mostly of New Testament big band arrangements, Sinatra style crooning, and a (pitiful) rendition of Jump, Jive and Wail), I thought I should present some contrast. Here's my set:

1. Shine On, Harvest Moon - The Ink Spots - Voice Masters Vol. 2 - 3:09
2. Who Walks In When I Walk Out? - Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald - The Wonderful Duets - 2:21
3. Dat Dere - Oscar Brown Jr. - Sin & Soul ...And Then Some - 2:52
4. My Blue Heaven - Stuff Smith Quartet - Swingin' Stuff - 3:46
5. All Of Me - Twin Cities Hot Club - Twin Cities Hot Club - 4:10
6. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 3:15
7. Sugar Blues - Clarence Williams - Boogie Woogie Blues - 3:39
   
8. Southern sunset - Swing Parade South - Hommage a Sidney Bechet - 3:32
9. Everybody Loves My Baby - Sippie Wallace - Sippie - 3:11
10. Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06
11. Shine On Harvest Moon - Pete Fountain - Pete Fountain and The Kings Of Dixieland - 2:52
12. All the Cats Join In - Benny Goodman - The Best of The Capitol Years - 4:22
13. Twenty-Four Robbers - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:45
14. Minor Swing - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Give Me Your Telephone Number - 3:41
15. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18
16. Smack Dab In The Middle - The Deep River Boys - London Harmony - 2:59
17. Rock Me All Night Long - The Fabulous Treniers - The Hoss Allen Sessions - 2:41
18. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:54
19. Never Make You Move Too Soon - Barbara Morrison - Doing All Right - 3:34
20. Four or Five Times - Joe Williams - For Dancers Only! - 4:48

The exchange committee had planned a dance for Sunday afternoon on Federal Plaza, which is in downtown Chicago (in the Loop, as the locals say). It was raining by the time I got there around 2 p.m. I went to CVS and got some trash bags to keep my equipment dry, then set up my laptop under an umbrella. Less than ideal conditions. There were only a few people there, and seldom more than two couples dancing at one time. The cement was slick from the rain. As often happens at outdoor dances, some passers-by stopped to watch or chat. The last two tracks of my set were requests from some dude that just wandered up. He stayed to dance by himself.

1. Didn't It Rain - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 2:47
2. Shout, Sister, Shout! - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:41
3. Hoodle-Addle - Ray McKinley Orchestra - You Came A Long Way From St. Louis - 3:21
4. All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45
5. Aint Nobody's Business If I Do - B.B. King - Ogden's Blues Favorites, Vol. 3 - 3:38
6. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues - Doc Cheatham - Putumayo Presents: New Orleans - 3:20
7. I Ain't Goin' To Cry Anymore - Dinah Washington - Mixed Emotions - 2:40
8. Chicken Shack - Pinetop Perkins - Ladies Man - 4:28
9. Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard - 1938-46 - 2:38
10. Like It Is - Erroll Garner - That's My Kick & Gemini - 2:44
11. It's A Shame - The Spinners - Motown: The Classic Years - 3:10
12. Teardrops From My Eyes - Ruth Brown - Rockin' In Rhythm - Best Of - 2:59
13. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18
14. Lean Baby - Illinois Jacquet - Flying Home - 3:05
15. Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42
16. Ain't Got No Room for the Blues - Banu Gibson - Vintage Banu - 2:46
17. Confessin' The Blues - Carrie Smith - When You're Down and Out - 4:36
18. Take The "A" Train - Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Band - 2:54
19. The Comeback - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 4:10

Lionel Hampton Sextet - Fiddle-Dee-Dee

Available on eMusic, Amazon, and iTunes.

Personnel:
Lionel Hampton - vibraphone
Marshal Royal - clarinet, alto sax
Ray Perry - violin
Charles Thompson - piano
Irving Ashby - guitar
Vernon Alley - bass
Lee Young - drums

This song has a really distinctive, ear-catching mood to it...a certain vibe, you might say (yuck yuck yuck). The first thirty seconds of the song sound exotic and a little spooky--it starts out with just the guitar playing these interesting embellishments over Hamp's ringing chords, and a very faint hi-hat symbol in the background. Then the violin speaks up, playing something similar to the guitar. It's a slow build-up, pretty dramatic, but somehow you can feel the swing in it.

Then after all that swirling about, the ensemble comes in and man do they swing. Hampton still lays down the same ringing, exotic chords, but more rapidly now, while his band plays these nice, rhythmic riffs. Everybody takes short solos and then they wrap up quickly--not so much a finale as an evaporation.

I think Ray Perry's violin is the star on this track. Listen in particular for how he doubles the vibraphone in the last phrase--I don't think I've ever heard anything like that before. I'm a pretty big fan of jazz fiddle/violin. When it's done well, I think violinists can swing really hard, and can be a lot expressive and evocative than just "oh what a pretty melody." (For instance, Stephane Grappelli could more than hold his own against Django.)

Laying back was sometimes a challenge for Hampton--since he played a percussion instrument, I think sometimes he would forget that the other musicians actually had to take a breath every once in a while, so he would just speed through relentlessly. Dancers have to breath too, so his tendency to plow through phrases makes some of his music less than ideal for dancing. This track is a nice counter-example though. When it's Hampton's turn to solo, he's frantic as usual, but he leaves room to breath and to let the phrase sink in.

File this under: tracks that will keep the energy high while sounding laid-back.