Louis Armstrong vs. Joe Oliver

I just finished reading Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout. Thought I'd share one moment that struck me. It's about Armstrong and his mentor Joe "King" Oliver, who at the time were playing at clubs across the street from each other in Chicago.

One night [in 1926], according to cornetist Wild Bill Davison, the two men dueled on the bandstand of the Sunset Cafe, playing "125 choruses of Tiger Rag--exchanging choruses. People went insane--they threw their clothes on the floor--it was the most exciting thing I ever heard in my life"....Eddie Condon later wrote that there was so much hot music to be heard in that part of town that a passerby standing on the corner of 35th and Calumet "could hold an instrument in the middle of the street and the air would play it."

Adding this to the itinerary for our next time-traveling vacation. Incidentally, 35th and Calumet is in the neighborhood called Bronzeville. That location now hosts a Meyer's Ace Hardware (where the Sunset Cafe used to stand) and a Popeye's Fried Chicken:

View Larger Map

Gordon Webster's latest: A great stocking stuffer for the DJ in your life

I'm waiting eagerly for Gordon Webster's latest album to arrive in my mailbox, but can't wait that long to tell y'all to get one too. I got to preview two tracks off the album, and feel confident saying--on the basis of those two by themselves--that you really really need to get a copy of the album for yourself. Or several.

One of the tracks I got a listen to is called Milenburg Joys. It starts out with the trumpet, trombone, and clarinet improvising without any rhythm section, which really grabs your ear. Then the band kicks in and makes you want to explode, it swings so nice. It's about 185 bpm, energetic without being loud or heavy, and has an appealing vocal and killer solos. Basically, the most perfect tune you could imagine for a great social dance. I played it at Fizz this week but didn't really get to observe how it went over on the crowd, because I couldn't resist dancing to it myself. So judging solely by how much fun I had dancing (thanks Kat!), this tune is dynamite.

The other tune is a rendition of Bei Mir Bist Du Shane, and is also sweet for social dancing. You can download it for free from Gordon's website, where you can also stream previews of all the tracks on the album. But really, don't bother with all that. Just order the album now.

You could order it as a stocking stuffer for your favorite DJ. I bet they'd like that. Actually, you could also order it as a gift for a DJ that you don't even like, because then they'd at least have 45 minutes of good, very social-danceable music in their collection. Don't order it for me though because I already have a copy coming.

I'll report in again once I've had the chance to listen to it from start to finish.

Fizz setlist 12/13/2010

It was moderately crowded at Fizz last night--a decent turnout, considering the weather. I had a lot of music picked out that I was excited to play, and so was feeling pretty impatient because nobody showed up 'til about 9:30. Even then, there were only a few folks in the room, so I kept the music on the relaxed side. (I tend to dislike it when brash, punchy big band music gets played to an almost empty room--it just doesn't fit the vibe.)

Here's the BPM sparkline, which looks funny due to the fast stuff I played right at the start of the night, to an empty room. Same with the frequency distribution, from which you may note that I kept things quicker than usual. Here's what I played:

1. Swing, Brother, Swing - Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs - Willie "The Lion" Smith And His Cubs - 2:51 - 230
2. Yam Brown - Bob Hunt's Duke Ellington Orchestra - What A Life! - 2:43 - 225
3. Number Two (none) - The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Yerba Buena Bounce - 3:42 - 180
4. Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town - Chu Berry - Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions - 2:46 - 160 (A few people were just coming in at this point.)
5. Comes Love - Duke Heitger - Duke Heitger's "Krazy Kapers" - 4:34 - 150
6. Swinga-Dilla Street - Echoes of Swing - Harlem Reflections - 4:24 - 155
7. That's What I Like - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends - Kansas City's First Lady Of The Blues - 2:47 - 150 (There was a group showing each other 6-count moves in the corner, so I figured they would like some boogie.)
8. Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five - Jukebox Hits Volume 1 1942-1947 - 2:45 - 165
9. On The Sunny Side of the Street - Benny Goodman - The Yale University Archives, Volume 3 - 3:11 - 135
10. All Of Me - Gordon Webster - Happy When I'm With You - 4:07 - 150
11. Baby, What's The Matter With You? - Roy Eldridge Quintet - Little Jazz Giant - 3:20 - 140
12. Stuffy - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Jammin' the Blues - 3:46 - 150
13. Love Me or Leave Me - Banu Gibson - Let Yourself Go - 3:07 - 165 (This one was for Mary, and served as a transition from small-combo jazz to jankier stuff.)
14. 8, 9 And 10 - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:43 - 175
15. When You Wore a Tulip - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Jazz Roots Elixir - 3:30 - 160
16. I'm Alone Because I Love You - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Live @ D.B.A. - 3:29 - 150 (And this one was for Jason.)
17. Milenberg Joys - Gordon Webster - Live in Philadelphia - 3:45 - 185 (Holy House-rocking, Batman! This track is AMAZING. More on Gordon Webster soon. I was dancing during this song, and so didn't have time to adjust course: I should have pushed the tempo & energy higher on the next song, rather than let it fall.)
18. Billie's Blues - Tuba Skinny - Tubaskinny - 3:19 - 135 (Now transitioning from jank to big band.)
19. The Back Room Romp - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 2:49 - 150
20. Vine Street Rumble - Ernie Krivda - The Band That Swings - 3:10 - 160
21. King Porter Stomp - Kansas City All-Stars - KC After Dark - 4:38 - 170
22. Ain't Misbehavin' - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 4:01 - 170 (This track is high-energy. I wanted to go up one more notch, but didn't want to push it immediately. Instead, I gave it a breather with the next song, which has a more relaxed feel even though it's not that much slower...)
23. I Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:09 - 160 (..then after that I kicked it up. This illustrates a pet theory of mine about how to climb tempos. I feel like it works, though I only have impressionistic evidence.)
24. Undecided - Ella Fitzgerald - Live At The Savoy - 1939-40 - 3:06 - 210
25. Shiny Stockings - Count Basie - April In Paris - 5:17 - 120
26. They Raided The Joint - Roy Eldridge Sextet - Little Jazz Giant - 3:18 - 145
27. Accentuate The Positive - Bill Henderson - Complete VeeJay Recordings - Vol. 2 - 3:19 - 120 (Not Lou Rawls.)
28. St. Louis Blues - Benny Goodman - Very Best of Benny Goodman - 3:24 - 135
29. Ya Gotta See Baby Tonight - Louis Prima - Louis Prima et son orchestre : 1945 - 2:24 - 145
30. Blue Drag - Earl Hines - Swingin' Down - 2:59 - 140
31. Dark Eyes - Fats Waller - Happy Birthday Fats Vol. 1 - 3:22 - 160 (Will I ever tire of this tune? I think not. But to brighten the mood after the last two--both of which were "dark" sounding--how about a shim-sham?)
32. Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160
33. Dipsy Doodle - Larry Clinton & His Orchestra - G.I. Jukebox, Original Hits from the Swing Era, 1938-1946 - 3:03 - 175 (After Dipsey Doodle, we had a "holiday burlesque" performance from Rachel & John. They called it "How Santa Got his Groove Back." Not to spoil the secret, but it ends on a rather Jewish note. Had I been quicker-witted, I would have followed up immediately with #36.)
34. Bring It On Down - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 2:34 - 175
35. Madame Dynamite - Eddie Condon - Let's Swing It - 2:55 - 185
36. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon - Slim Gaillard - Ice Cream on Toast - 2:10 - 180
37. Don’t Be That Way - Chick Webb - Stomping At The Savoy - 2:35 - 205

The Big Apple

By request,below are my notes describing the moves in Frankie Manning's Big Apple choreography. There are many good YouTube videos that break this choreography down too:

• Patrick & Natasha demonstrate the whole routine
• Joe Demers breaks it down nice and slow
• The Harlem Hot-Shots perform the spit out of it

And here are two film clips of Whitey's Lindyhopper's dancing it:

• Keep Punchin'
• Spirit Moves

One final note, there are several songs that are commonly used for this choreography. It used to be that everyone danced it whenever Lionel Hampton's Flying Home came on. Lately, everyone seems to be using Solomon Douglas's re-creation of the music to The Big Apple Contest from Keep Punchin'. And with some slight modifications, it also fits well to Count Basie's Jumpin' At The Woodside. (These notes fit with Flying Home, which has an extra eight-count between phrases 12 and 13. If you dance it to Keep Punchin', you end up doing the skates at the top of phrase 13, and everything after that gets shifted slightly.)

Phrase 1
* jump around (3 eight-counts)
* half-break, cross, & turn

Phrase 2
* pulls
* spank & fall back
* rocks
* drunken sailor

Phrase 3
* boogie backs
* apple jacks
* apple jacks (facing out from circle)
* gaze afar

Phrase 4
* suzie-q
* suzie-q (tap 7, fall 8)
* fall-off-the-log to rusty-dusty (towards the middle, then back out)
* rusty-dusty (to your partner, then back out, triple-step on 7&8)

Phrase 5
* spank the baby (counter-clockwise around the circle, 3 eight-counts)
* spank the baby (kick-step on 7-8, turn in to face the center of the circle)

Phrase 6
* jump charleston
* jump charleston
* jump charleston (double-pump on 5, 7, step 8)
* rock-step, kick-step, fishtail, fishtail

Phrase 7
* fishtail, fishtail, boogie back, boogie back
* boogie forward, boogie forward, breeze in the knees
* fishtail, boogie back (away), boogie back (to your "fake partner"), boogie back (away)
* ride the pony (with your "real partner")

Phrase 8
* step 1, step-slap 3 4, step-slap 5 6, step-fall 7 8
* fall off the log to lock arms with your partner
* truck clockwise
* turn and truck counter-clockwise

Phrases 9 & 10
London Bridge: truck under london bridge; once you're under, add to the bridge; use running-in-place footwork

Phrase 11
* Claps & finger-wag
* Claps & finger-wag
* Claps & finger-wag
* Leads: step-scoot left 1 2, step-scoot right 3 4, cross left behind right on 5, unwind (counterclockwise) on 7
Follows: step-scoot left 1 2, step-scoot right 3 4, cross 5, uncross 7

Phrase 12
* Siska-boom-ba, siska-boom-ba
* Rock step (right-left) 1 2, cross right over left 3, unwind (counterclockwise) on 5, scoot back 7, step 8
* Kick-step 1 2, banana-peel kicks 3 4 5 6, cross right over left 7, scoot back 8
* Step 1, kick 2, rock-step (left-right) 3 4, cross left over right 5, turn (clockwise) 7

Extra 8-count
* Skates left 1 2 3 4, sailor right 5 6 7, stomp-off 8

Phrase 13
* Step backwards right left right 1 2 3, fall-off-the 4 5 6 (turning clockwise), stomp-off &7
* Fall-off-the-log 8 1 2 3, rock back 5, rock forward 7
* Rocks
* Boogie backs with rotation

Phrase 14
* Shortie George 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
* Shortie George 1 3 5 6 7
* Shortie George 1 3 5 6, kick-step (left) 7 8
* Charleston (starting with kick forward on right)

Phrase 15
* Around-the-world charleston
* rock-step (left-right) 1 2, step 3, slap 4, triple-step slap on & 6 7 8,
* triple-step slap & 2 3 4, triple-step slap & 6 7 8
* Cross left over right (bending down low) 1, uncross right 3, spring up 4

Phrase 16
* suzie-q's to the left
* modified jump charleston - leads travel right, pass behind follows
* suzie-q's to the left
* modified jump charleston - follows travel right, pass behind leads

Phrase 17
* Peck
* Jump around
* Jump around
* half-break, cross, & turn

Phrase 18
Break-a-leg and exit

Fat Babies

I'm at a bit of a loss for words, other than cusses. Last night was the best night of music I've heard in months...maybe even in a year. I went to the Black Rock Tavern, not far from my house, where Nicolle Wood (of the Galaxie) was hosting a dance with a live band called the Fat Babies. The line-up was as follows:

Andy Schumm--cornet

John Otto--clarinet

Dave Bock--trombone

Joel Paterson--guitar

Beau Sample--bass

Alex Hall--drums

They were brilliant. Masterful, energetic, and joyous. They played a lot of familiar trad. jazz tunes, in a style that was pitch-perfect for dancing. And the crowd there was appreciative, hooting and hollering after solos, applauding and screaming until they gave an encore, which makes it even more fun. Several times during the night folks stopped dancing during a song just to listen and clap along--I know that's become common in many places but it is a rare happening in Chicago.

There was one particular moment in the middle of the second set. In the middle of the tune, the rhythm section dropped out entirely, leaving just the horns and clarinet to play a sort of instrumental "a capella." I've heard bands do this before, though I'm not sure what it's called. It was such a striking change that I just stopped dancing to listen, along with several other couples around me. This sort of collective improvisation is really striking for its intricacy, the way they keeps the rhythm going just by implication, the tension that builds because you worry that they're going to end the number by trailing out. Then of course when the full band came back in it bowls you over like your big brother in a backyard wrestle-fest: ferocious but in a loving way. Knocked-off socks were strewn everywhere after that one.

What a night. I can't wait to hear more from this group.

CodeBLUE contest music

Last night I went dancing at CodeBLUE, the newest venue addition to the Chicago dance scene. The organizers had invited me and Jenna to judge the low-key strictly lindy contest that evening (they've been running a series of different contests at the dances), and we were happy to oblige. We've got some fairly developed opinions about contests and contest music--not just from a competitors point of view but also in terms of how contests affect an event. We tried our best to keep to our guns: choose music that will make the competitors look good, have somebody to count them in for spotlights, make the whole thing as short & snappy as possible.

Here's a run-down of the music and a play-by-play of the contest:

1. Look-a-There - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:18 - 180. After clearing a space and telling the competitors how the contest was going to work, we introduced all 8 couples and did a short all-skate warm-up. Then line back up and get ready for a spotlight round.
2. Moppin' & Boppin' - Fats Waller - 100 Swing & Big Band Classics - 4:27 - 170. The spotlights were a standard jam format, with each competitor getting eight 8-counts. Since there were 8 competitors, that meant the song had to be 4 choruses long to squeeze everyone in. I knew Moppin' & Boppin' was long enough, and had a good energy, but the drum solo introduction slipped my mind. It's ten 8-counts long (ugh!), so we just let it run before the first spotlight. Unfortunately that meant leaving Phil & Jame in the middle of the floor waiting to start--sorry you two!
3. Lindyhopper's Delight - Chick Webb - Strictly Jive - 2:45 - 195. We did another round of spotlights with this song. I picked this one because it's an old standby--probably all of the competitors have heard it a zillion times before, so they'd be very comfortable with it--but I bet many people in the audience were not very familiar with it.
4. Forty Days & Forty Nights - The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn - Forty Days & Forty Nights - 2:52 - 215. We had planned to just do a very short all-skate at the end, but on the spur of the moment, we decided to do make it a tap-out. All eight couples started dancing, then we tapped them out one at a time until there were only two couples left. The audience cheered for their favorites between these two, and then we tapped out one of them to leave a winner.

The top three couples were:

• 3rd - Phil & Jame
• 2nd - Blake & Kristine
• 1st - John & Kathryn

Congratulations to all eight couples who competed--you all looked great and pulled out some great dancing.

On the whole I think things went down pretty well, though the whole thing could have been slightly shorter, and there was the one hiccup with the music I picked. Start to finish, I think the contest took about 15 minutes. With a little more forethought/coordination, we might have been able to get it down to 10 or 12 minutes. I'm not sure how we could have made it shorter than that, since I wouldn't have wanted to shorten it to one spotlight a piece, and we didn't really have enough couples to do a prelim round. Hmmm....

Fizz 11/08/2010

With the crowd last night at Fizz, a monkey with an iPhone probably could have kept the floor full. People seemed very eager to move. On nights like this, it can be hard to tell whether you're actually doing an amazing job and are the Best DJ Evar or are just a lame DJ whose music everyone puts up with because they have no choice. On the basis of very ephemeral impressions, I'm gonna go ahead and categorize last night in the former category. I felt like I flowed in and out of different feels well, I covered a variety of styles, and rode the wave over a big tempo range, and people came up to the booth to ask about the tunes I was playing. Pusto +1.

Here's what I played, along with the BPM sparkline and frequency distribution:

1. Slap That Bass - Adrian Rollini - 1937-1938 - 2:48 - 195
2. Blues my naughty sweetie gives to me - Gene Krupa - E0VB5554 RCA-20-4026 - 2:21 - 250
3. Fuzzy Wuzzy - Three Peppers - 64820 DECCA-2239A - 2:45 - 205 (The room was literally empty for the first few tracks, so I just played stuff I'd like to hear but knew I'd never work in to my set.)
4. Gettin' Some Fun Out Of Life - New Orleans Jazz Vipers - Hope You're Comin' Back - 5:30 - 120 (For Dan.)
5. I'm Alone Because I Love You - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Live @ D.B.A. - 3:29 - 150 (Chris Aubin and I have been going crazy on the New Orleans music lately, but last night I'd decided that I wanted to try to avoid going down that route for more than a tune or two. My hunch was bolstered because this tune didn't get a great response. Despite the title, the next tune has more of a groovy-smooth feel than janky NOLA sound.)
6. Good Morning New Orleans - Kermit Ruffins - Livin' A Tremé Life - 3:34 - 120
7. Cool Kind Of Poppa - Mildred Anderson - Person To Person - 2:57 - 140 (Stuck with the groovy feel, now moving into more classic big band.)
8. Empty Glass - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:07 - 140
9. No Regrets - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 2:52 - 130
10. He Ain't Got Rhythm - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:49 - 155
11. Christopher Columbus - Duke Ellington - Recollections Of The Big Band Era - 3:03 - 165
12. South - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Live at the Legion - 3:17 - 182
13. Comes Love - Duke Heitger - Duke Heitger's "Krazy Kapers" - 4:34 - 150
14. Baby Won't You Please Come Home? - Crytzer's Blue Rhythm Band - Chasin' the Blues - 3:38 - 125
15. St. Louis Blues - Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way - 3:49 - 130
16. All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45 - 145
17. Bizet Has His Day - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Ain't No School Like the Old School - 3:43 - 155
18. Honeysuckle Rose - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 2:56 - 170
19. Harlem Shout - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:02 - 195
20. Sweet Georgia Brown - Django Reinhardt - Swing From Paris - 3:07 - 210
21. Big Fat Mama - Four Vagabonds - Four Vagabonds Vol. 1 (1941-1951) - 2:05 - 150
22. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18 - 125 (Vikram this was the song you asked about. Moving into a bit of a rock&roll feel for the next three songs.)
23. Move Me Baby - Jimmy Witherspoon & The Lamplighters - Retro High School Party - 2:33 - 135
24. Buzz Buzz Buzz - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 3:07 - 140
25. Billie's Blues - Janiva Magness - My Bad Luck Soul - 3:14 - 110
26. Stuffy - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Jammin' the Blues - 3:46 - 150
27. My Blue Heaven - Delta Rhythm Boys - The Best Of 1940-50 - 2:32 - 165
28. Jump Session - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1939 - 2:35 - 160
29. Madame Dynamite - Eddie Condon - Let's Swing It - 2:55 - 185
30. The Jive is Jumpin' - The Four Clefs - BLUEBIRD 8297 - 2:26 - 200
31. Cement Mixer - Don Byas - Jazz In Paris: Bebop - 2:54 - 135
32. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 - 4:26 - 125
33. I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle - Lavern Baker - LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 4:05 - 90
34. Sugar Blues - Clarence Williams - Boogie Woogie Blues - 3:40 - 135 (I hadn't pulled this track out in ages--it seemed to get a good response.)

Recent gigs

My friend Jenna and I have been spending some long hours on the road lately (listening to music ranging from this to this), since we've been teaching lindy hop all over the Midwest. I decided to map out all the places I've taught workshops (with either Jenna or Mary), hoping that if I connected the dots it would make a funny picture or something. No such luck, it's just a triangle:


View Midwestern lindy hop tours in a larger map

First Friday at Big City Swing 11/5/2010

Last night was pretty crazy. There were about 40 very enthusiastic people in the intro lesson, and by the time I got there, as the lesson was rapping up, it was already pretty steamy in the studio. More people showed up just as the dance began, so fortunately we had both floors open for dancing (otherwise there wouldn't have been room to even sway back and forth). I had the first set of the night, and knew that I needed to cater to all the folks that were there for the first time. Nearly all of the most seasoned dancers (including our friends in from Madison, WI) migrated upstairs immediately in search of room to swing out, so I had a room full of folks who were rocking their 6-count and charleston. Consequently, I kept the tempos between about 140 and 180--comfortable for 6-count--while trying to push it a bit higher. The more uptempo numbers didn't seem to take though.

I'd also decided to throw my high-falutin' taste out the window and play music that the newest dancers would connect with and have fun to. That's why I kicked it off with BBVD, threw in In the Mood, and gave a nod to Sinatra. Here's what I played, plus the usual BPM sparkline and frequency distribution:

1. How Big Can You Get? - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway - 4:05 - 160
2. Baby Drives Me Wild - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 2:18 - 170
3. Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five - Jukebox Hits Volume 1 1942-1947 - 2:45 - 165 (I was trying to max out on "catchy" and "familiar" with these.)
4. Apollo Jump - Lucky Millinder - Classic Big Band Jazz - 3:26 - 145
5. Are You All Reet? - Chu Berry - Classic Chu Berry Columbia And Victor Sessions - 3:09 - 155
6. In the Mood - Glenn Miller - Best of the Lost Recordings & The Secret Broadcasts - 3:15 - 180 (My wife reported overhearing someone exclaim "I love this one!" as this tune started.)
7. Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:05 - 155
8. The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - You Do Something To Me - 3:45 - 160
9. Solid As A Rock - Count Basie - Count Basie Et Son Orchestre 1950-1951 - 3:03 - 135
10. All Of Me - Della Reese - Cocktail Classics - 2:01 - 160
11. Yes Indeed - Slam Stewart - Slamboree - 3:35 - 150
12. Shotgun Boogie - Paul Tillotson the Love Trio - Lindy Hop Blues - 2:55 - 165 (This track may be the most perfect East Coast swing tune ever. DJ's best friend.)
13. Sugar - Katharine Whalen - Jazz Squad - 2:57 - 182
14. Put A Lid On It - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot - 2:39 - 198
15. Miss Brown To You - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 3:15 - 145
16. Did You Mean It? - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:22 - 150
17. I Get A Kick Out Of You - Frank Sinatra - The Very Good Years - 3:14 - 175
18. All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45 - 145
19. Rose Room - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Ain't No School Like the Old School - 3:09 - 153 (I got a surprisingly good reaction to this track--I always thought of Rose Room as an anonymous, relaxed tune, but evidently folks were listening really closely and liked what they heard.)
20. Yacht Club Swing - Echoes of Swing - Harlem Joys - 3:19 - 160
21. Oh! Babe - Lucky Millinder - Apollo Jump - 2:56 - 170
22. Killin' Jive - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:50 - 180
23. Minor Swing - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Give Me Your Telephone Number - 3:41 - 195
24. If You'se a Viper - John Sinclair - No Money Down : John Sinclair's Greatest Hits , Volume One - 3:55 - 150
25. Last Night On The Backporch - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Ol' New Orleans Home - 4:10 - 150
26. Hello, Dolly! - Bobby Darin - Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 5: Wild Cool & Swingin - 3:14 - 165
27. Onion - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five, 1938-1940, Volume 1 (Disc - 2:55 - 170
28. Walk 'Em - Buddy Johnson - Jukebox Hits 1940-1951 - 2:53 - 125
29. It Ain't The Meat - The Swallows - Risque Rhythm: Nasty '50s R&B - 2:35 - 140 (It was after 10 p.m., and I didn't see any children in the room, so I figured this was okay.)
30. Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti) - Jimmie Lunceford - Jukebox Hits 1935-1947 - 2:45 - 155
31. Swing Brother Swing - Count Basie - America's #1 Band - 1:50 - 150
32. Cavernism - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town - 3:24 - 185
33. Let's Misbehave - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - You Do Something To Me - 2:52 - 188 (This song was a performance from Big City's Solo Charleston class. They were awesome.)
34. T'aint What You Do - Sy Oliver - Yes Indeed - 3:02 - 165 (Right into the shim-sham.)

My friend Bob took over after this, around 10:30. He'd promised to "bring the thunder" and I'd say he delivered. I may have to start calling him Thor.

Rock Ya Body

This past weekend Jenna and I taught at Truman State College in Kirksville, Missouri, at an event called Rock Ya Body. It was fun to work with such an enthusiastic group of dancers--doubly so because they picked stuff up really quickly and because they had some very clever Halloween costumes.

Here's the song we used for the routine class on Sunday Morning:

• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Sidney Bechet - Sidney Bechet: 1949 - 3:20

You can get the mp3 on Amazon here. Here's the (fast) song we used for the Big Apple:

• The Big Apple Contest - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Swingmatism - 2:58

You can get Solomon's albums from CDBaby here, on Emusic here, or Amazon here. Do yourself and your friends a favor by getting the whole albums, because they have lots of great music.

For sentimental reasons...

Seeing Jerry's list inspired me to pull together a list of my own cliche, overplayed jams and songs that remind me of old times. Everyone knows that music can carry really strong sentimental value, but I think its something that DJs sometimes overlook (myself included). Also, no matter how into the latest trends you are, you've got to admit that our taste wasn't uniformly 100% all bad back in the day. Some of the stuff that got played was really quality music, and deserves a fresh listen, especially since dancers who aren't ancient (and crotchety old) bastards may never have heard them. So, here's my own selection of songs that bring back strong memories and tracks that will never get old in my book:

1. Swing Lover - Indigo Swing - Indigo Swing - 3:11 - 115 (You are not allowed to call yourself old school unless you can recite the introduction to this song verbatim, right now.)
2. It's Only A Paper Moon - Oscar Peterson - With Respect To Nat - 2:32 - 124 (This was the song playing week in and week out as everyone learned the lindy hop at Its All Swing Studio in Boston. It still makes me roll my eyes but I love it anyways.)
3. Oh! Babe - Lucky Millinder - Apollo Jump - 2:56 - 170 (The Love Dogs, Boston's favorite jump blues band at one time, used to do a rollicking version of this tune. Back when I was but a young pup, I remember being at a dance when Ed Scheer, the lead singer, stopped everyone in their tracks with his extended scat solo on this number.)
4. I Love Being Here With You - Ernestine Anderson - Ernestine Anderson - The Concord Jazz Heritage Series - 3:39 - 130 (Birthday jam song of choice at Monday Night Practice in Boston.)
5. St. James Infirmary - Lou Rawls - Lou Rawls Live! - 4:34 - 115 (Slick Mike, the MNP DJ for years, ended every dance with Lou Rawls. In the past year or two they have a new DJ crew there, so I'm not sure if that tradition continues.)
6. You Don't Know What Love Is - Rachelle Ferrell - First Instrument - 5:14 - 120 (This was my absolute favorite song back in the days of groove. I have a really vivid memory of dancing with my teacher, Marilee, to this song.)
7. Plenty (Feat. Erykah Badu) - Guru's Jazzmatazz - Streetsoul - 4:38 - 165 (If you started dancing in the last 6 or 7 years, you may not know this song. It may just blow your mind.)
8. Evil Gal Blues - Aretha Franklin - Aretha Sings The Blues - 2:43 - 118 (Blues Brian played this album all the time at the Wednesday night dance at MIT.)
9. Fever - Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith - Blue Bash! - 5:36 - 116 (Years ago, when Johnny & Becky came to Boston--you probably have no idea who they are...just picture Johnny as like the Peter Strom of the day, only he was about 5 foot 2, a very talented contact juggler, a little bit balding, and prone to wearing wife beaters. Anyways, Johnny & Becky taught a workshop and played this song over and over again, but Johnny refused to tell me who it was. It took me about 3 years to figure it out.)
10. Happy-Go-lucky Local (Night Train) - Oscar Peterson - Night Train - 5:00 - 110 (I still love the Ray Brown bass solo in this song.)
11. In the Mood - Glenn Miller - Best of the Lost Recordings & The Secret Broadcasts - 3:15 - 180 (Just to be crotchety, I enjoy pointing out that this version of In the Mood, recorded when Glenn Miller had his military band, is actually a pretty respectable piece of music.)
12. Meet Me in Uptown - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 2:59 - 145 (These guys were kings of Chicago at one time.)
13. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200 (Periodically I get it into my head that Stuff Smith was a better fiddler than Stephane Grappelli. And then I hear this track again and change my mind.)
14. Carioca - Artie Shaw - Self Portrait - 4:06 - 215 (People will still be dancing balboa to this tune 100 years from now.)
15. Bei Mir Bist Du Schane - Janis Siegel - Swing Kids - 4:11 - 150 (The crowning achievement of the Boston College Swing Kids was the routine we put together to this song. I think I had a Swango solo during the slow bit. Supposedly there's a video that exists to document this...)
16. Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard - 1938-46 - 2:38 - 170 (As you read this, there is a swing dance happening somewhere in the world, and this song is playing.)
17. Let Me Off Uptown - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz - 3:24 - 130 (This song is a DJ's best friend, because it starts out chill, has an appealing vocal, and goes out with a lot of energy.)
18. I Want a Tall Skinny Papa - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:52 - 140 (I played this song last Monday and my wife pointed out to me that it will soon be her jam, in a very literal sense.)

Greatest hits of lindy hop

Jerry Almonte just posted a nice piece about a recent "greatest hits of lindy hop" set he played at Jam Cellar, the regular Tuesday night dance in D.C. As he describes it:

Most DJ’s have a stash of overplayed hits they keep in reserve if a night isn’t going for them. I thought it would be fun just the wheel them out all at once especially since I haven’t heard a bunch of them in a long time. I’m not going to pretend like this was some great challenge or anything. In fact I’m pretty sure any tone deaf moron would have been able to keep any Lindy Hop floor full by putting the playlist below on shuffle. However, the last time I did something like this was a couple of years ago, but it was at a venue that has more beginner/intermediate level dancers. Most of them hadn’t heard any of the songs at all. The fun part was watching them react, and being reminded of why certain songs are just the jam. It was like re-watching the last 10 years of social dance compressed into 2 hours.

The post includes his setlist, which brought back a lot of memories, and reminded me of songs that I never really play. Here's some notes on a couple of the songs from his set:

• Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares for Me" never fails to put me in a sentimental mood, since I associate it so strongly with my college swing club where I first learned charleston and lindy hop.
• It's perpetually interesting how different scenes can have such different perspectives on songs. A bunch of the tracks that Jerry lists as played out in D.C. have seldom if ever been played in Chicago. Muggy Spanier's "Sister Kate" I've played all of three times at dances, and not once in the past 2 years. I'd put money on it that none of the other regular DJs in Chicago have ever played it. It is a great track.
• Same thing with Fats Waller's "Dark Eyes." I do love that tune and played Wingy Manone's version pretty often for a while.
• Same thing with Eddie Condon's "Madame Dynamite." I used to play this all the time. Last year my dance partner won a jack & jill once to this song (see here starting at 6:43) and so lately I've avoided playing it because nothing will ever match that dance.
• "I Didn't Like It the First Time," a.k.a. "The Spinach Song" by Julia Lee & her Boyfriends. Sure its cornball novelty. But it's sure fun to play when your audience is kids from the Moody Bible Institute.
• "Jump Through the Window" by Roy Eldridge. Ever since Skye & Frida did their routine to this song, probably every DJ in the country plays this song now. I love dancing to it, but have tried to be a little bit cautious about playing it too much because I didn't want to ruin it. I've often substituted Eldridge's version of "Little Jazz" when I get the urge to play "Jump."
• The only song off Jerry's list that I find really annoying is Ella doing "Smooth Sailing." It just grates on me. Please don't play it. Everything else I'm cool with and would actually love to hear given more air around town.

Fizz 10/11/2010

Here's my set list from last night (plus bpm sparkline and frequency distribution, both of which are kind of unusual for me):

1. Lucky Devil - Bria Skonberg - Fresh - 3:45 - 60
2. Christopher Columbus - The Flat Cats - Big Show Tonight - 3:29 - 170
3. The Devil With the Devil - The Red Stick Ramblers - Right Key, Wrong Keyhole - 3:25 - 195
4. Hey Sweet Potato - Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra - The Best of Buddy's - 2:43 - 130
5. Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer - Four Vagabonds - Four Vagabonds Vol. 1 - 2:52 - 135
6. Growling Dog - Harlem Hamfats - Let's Get Drunk And Truck - 2:40 - 120
7. Sweet Substitute - Meschiya Lake And The Little Big Horns - Lucky Devil - 3:23 - 110
8. Jumpin' At The Woodside - Alix Combelle - 1935-40 - 2:56 - 210
9. I'se Muggin' - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 1: Swing Guitars - 3:07 - 170
10. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It - Papa Bues Viking Jazzband - Live In Copenhagen - 3:36 - 135
11. It's You Who Taught It To Me - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:42 - 160
12. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me - Sidney Bechet - Jazz in Paris: Sydney Bechet et Claude Luter - 2:40 - 145
13. When I Take My Sugar to Tea - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Jump for Joy - 4:00 - 165
14. Miss Brown To You - Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Miss Smith To You! - 2:58 - 130
15. Good Evenin' Good Lookin' - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:10 - 150
16. Everything Is Jumpin' - Artie Shaw - The Very Best Of Artie Shaw - 5:09 - 165
17. South - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Live at the Legion - 3:17 - 180
18. The Darktown Strutters' Ball - Alberta Hunter - Amtrak Blues - 5:23 - 150
19. Home To Mississippi - Otis Spann - Otis Spann: Best Of The Vanguard Years - 3:30 - 130
20. Call The Police - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Ol' New Orleans Home - 4:43 - 200
21. Jeep Jockey Jump - Glenn Miller - Inspirational Swing! - 2:13 - 200
22. As Long As I Live - Catherine Russell - Inside This Heart of Mine - 3:33 - 120
23. Jump Session - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1939 - 2:35 - 160
24. Let Me Off Uptown - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz - 3:24 - 130
25. Gettin' In The Groove - Panama Francis & his Savoy Sultans - Gettin' in the Groove - 3:06 - 130
26. I Want a Tall Skinny Pappa - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:52 - 140
27. Smack Dab In The Middle - The Deep River Boys - London Harmony - 2:59 - 130
28. T'aint What You Do - Sy Oliver - Yes Indeed - 3:02 - 165
29. Ain't Misbehavin' - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 4:01 - 170
30. All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45 - 145
31. Wade In The Water - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - The Era Of Tommy Dorsey - 3:24 - 135
32. Knock Me a Kiss - Davina & The Vagabonds - Live @ the Times - 3:25 - 118
33. My Sweet Hunk O' Trash - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 - 3:20 - 95
34. My Blue Heaven - The Cangelosi Cards - Clinton Street Recordings, I - 4:11 - 145
35. Bring It On Down - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 2:34 - 175
36. Put A Lid On It - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot - 2:39 - 198
37. Some of These Days - Billie & DeDe Pierce - Gulf Coast Blues - 2:38 - 150
38. Shake That Thing - Vince Giordano's Nighthawks - The Aviator Music From The Motion Picture - 3:00 - 225
39. I'm Alone Because I Love You - Meschiya Lake And The Little Big Horns - Lucky Devil - 3:42 - 125

More from First Friday

My friend Chris just passed on his setlist from First Friday. He had the opening set, from 8:45 to about 10:30, before my set (which you can find here). Lately (actually for about a year now I think), he's been really focused on New Orleans music. He's built up a great collection of music by current bands from New Orleans, enough to make me pretty dang jealous. You'll note that tracks 17 through 29 are all from contemporary NOLA bands, except for #27 and #28 (#27 is a famous Chicago sax player, #28 is by a New Orleans group, but not contemporary). Here are Chris's picks:

1. For Dancer's Only - Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra
2. (Keep It) in the Groove - Andy Kirk & Mary Lou Williams
3. Shoo Fly Pie - Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, featuring Hilary Alexander
4. C Jam Blues - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
5. Le Jazz Blues - Jimmie Lunceford
6. 9-20 Special - Jonathan Stout and Campus Five, Featuring Hilary Alexander
7. Douce Ambience - Hot Club of New Orleans
8. Betcha Nickel (Single) - Ella Fitzgerald
9. Well Alright Then - Jimmie Lunceford
10. Wham - Johnny Hodges
11. Puddin' Head Serenade - Andy Kirk
12. Rose Room - Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra
13. Perdido Street - Sidney Bechet
14. Watch Out - Duke Heitger and His Swing Band
15. Savoy - Lucky Millinder & Quincy Jones & His Orchestra
16. Sing You Sinners - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra
17. How Come You Do Me Like You Do - Palm Court Jazz All-Stars
18. Blues Skies - Miss Sophie Lee
19. I'm Alone Because I Love You - The Palmetto Bug Stompers
20. Shake That Thing - The Smoking Time Jazz Club
21. Billie's Blues - Tuba Skinny And His Tiny Men
22. Down In New Orleans - Fritzel's New Orleans Jazz Band
23. Me Myself And I - Miss Sophie Lee
24. My Sweet Substitute - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
25. On The Sunny Side of the Street - Duke Heitger And His Swing Band
26. Do Your Duty - Tuba Skinny
27. Sugar Foot Stomp - Franz Jackson And The Original Jazz All-Stars
28. Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho - Sidney Bechet
29. Joshua Joshua - Meschiya Lake And The Little Big Horns

First Friday at Big City Swing 10/8/2010

I played the second half of the dance at yesterday's First Friday at Big City (yes, it was the 2nd Friday of the month--delayed because WCLX was the weekend before). My friend Chris had the first half of the night, causing me to have to delete about 2/3 of the songs on my shortlist of stuff to play. It's a nice problem to have--his set was killer! (UPDATE: Chris shared it with me, so check it out here.)

Here's what I ended up playing (along with the usual BPM histogram and sparkline):

1. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200
2. Hit That Jive, Jack - Four Vagabonds - Four Vagabonds Vol. 3 (1943) - 2:26 - 190
3. Sweet Georgia Brown - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman: Very Best of Benny Goodman - 3:07 - 175
4. St. Louis Blues - Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way - 3:49 - 130
5. Miss Brown To You - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 3:15 - 145
6. Easy Does It - Paul Tillotson the Love Trio - Lindy Hop Blues - 2:57 - 130
7. My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148
8. Big John's Special - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:18 - 170
9. Number Two - The Hot Club Of San Francisco - Yerba Buena Bounce - 3:42 - 180
10. Cement Mixer - Don Byas - Jazz In Paris: Bebop - 2:54 - 135
11. Shout'Em, Aunt Tillie - Duke Ellington - That Lindy Hop - 3:03 - 150
12. Let The Good Times Roll - Linda Hopkins - Wild Women Blues - 3:26 - 140
13. Hey Little Girl - Big Joe Turner - Things That I Used To Do - 4:36 - 130
14. Lean Baby - Illinois Jacquet - Flying Home - 3:05 - 125
15. Flat Foot Floogee - Ray Bryant - Swing Dance Special - 2:42 - 160
16. Communications - Slim Gaillard - Slim Gaillard: 1947-1951 - 2:29 - 175
17. Give My Regards To Broadway - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:37 - 170
18. I found a million dollar baby - Benny Goodman - COLUMBIA 36136 - 2:57 - 200
19. When You Wore a Tulip - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Jazz Roots Elixir - 3:30 - 160
20. Who's Making Love - Johnnie Taylor - Stax Gold - 2:50 - 115
21. Tightrope - Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid - 4:22 - 165
22. Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42 - 125
23. Chant Of The Groove - Fats Waller - Fats Waller 1941 - 3:05 - 185
24. Heart Of Steel - Galactic - Ya-Ka-May - 3:27 - 90
25. Take Your Shirt Off - T-Pain - Step Up 3D Soundtrack - 3:48 - 95
26. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson - Number Ones - 4:17 - 110

Fizz 9/13/2010

I had the early set at Fizz last night. I felt like I was kind of all over the place, but in the end I was reasonably happy with this set. I played a couple of streaks--several songs in a row by the same artist, but with a variety of feels. I ended up playing 4 (!) Ellington tracks, which is unusual for me. My friend John (affectionately known as DJ Puppy) was in the booth with me, watching over my shoulder and suggesting tracks. Some of the picks below are his.

Here's the BPM sparkline and frequency distribution (a long-tailed distribution for once! nice and symmetric too), and here's the run-down:

1. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18 - 125
2. Pick-a-Rib - The Bob Wilber & Dany Doritz Quintet - Memories of you : Lionel and Benny - 3:03 - 155
3. Stuffy - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Jammin' the Blues - 3:46 - 150
4. Savoy Blues - Duke Heitger - Duke Heitger's "Krazy Kapers" - 4:11 - 100
5. Did I Remember - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 3:03 - 140
6. My Blue Heaven - Django Reinhardt - Django In Rome, 1949 /1950 (Disc B) - 3:32 - 185 (For all the bal dancers)
7. Empty Glass - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:07 - 140
8. The Back Room Romp - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 2:49 - 150
9. Ain't Misbehavin' - Kermit Ruffins - Putumayo Presents: Kermit Ruffins - 4:36 - 140
10. If You're A Viper - Helen Humes - Deed I Do - 3:41 - 100 (For Dan)
11. Little Jazz - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 3:06 - 140
12. Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:21 - 140
13. Betcha Nickel - Ella Fitzgerald - My Heart Belongs to Daddy - 2:51 - 160
14. Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 - 170
15. Blue Lou - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 2:51 - 195
16. Ballin' The Jack - Kid Ory - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:15 - 145
17. My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148 (Played this tune twice--whoops! Different feels though.)
18. Bli-Blip - Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Band - 3:09 - 150
19. Harlem Air Shaft - Duke Ellington - Piano In the Background - 4:03 - 170 (I was on the fence about going one more with Ellington--it would have been Main Stem, which is a kick-ass track but a challenge for most dancers. Opted for Glenn Miller instead. Sigh.)
20. Jeep Jockey Jump - Glenn Miller - Inspirational Swing! - 2:13 - 200
21. Apollo Jump - Lucky Millinder - Classic Big Band Jazz - 3:26 - 145
22. Hey Sweet Potato - Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra - The Best of Buddy's - 2:43 - 130
23. Wailing Interval - Duke Ellington - The Private Collection: Volume Six, Dance Dates, California, - 3:39 - 160 (Puppy's suggestion.)
24. Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong) - Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 2:50 - 172
25. Behave Yourself - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - Small Group Recordings Vol. 3/2 (CD 06) - 3:00 - 135
26. Vibraphone Blues - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:23 - 85
27. Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong - Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography Disc 1 - 3:19 - 115 (Another Puppy pick.)
28. Do Your Duty - Tuba Skinny - Tuba Skinny - 3:46 - 120 (For Bob B.)
29. Bring It On Down - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 2:34 - 175
30. Forty Days & Forty Nights - The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn - Forty Days and Forty Nights - 2:51 - 215
31. Short Dressed Gal - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 - 2:38 - 160 (More Preservation Hall, I know. These guys are so good though.)
32. Goodnight Moon - Shivaree - I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump - 4:03 - 115 (This one was for a birthday jam, by request. I usually wouldn't play this, because it's both too long for a birthday jam and also it's not swing music, not even remotely. The birthday dude's friends pleaded with me to play it, and since there weren't any other birthdays that I knew of, I conceded.)
33. Fibre de verre - Paris Combo - Attraction - 3:39 - 135 (Trying to follow up the feel of the last track, but bring it back towards jazz.)
34. Soul Swinga Nova - Paul Tillotson the Love Trio - Lindy Hop Blues - 2:54 - 135 (Evidently I should be burned at the stake for playing this tune. Everybody's a critic.)
35. Fiddle Dee Dee - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 2:39 - 195 (For Thea.)

Madison Invasion

This past weekend I was up in Madison for their Jumptown Invasion. Saturday night's dance featured Patty and the Buttons, an amazing combo from Minneapolis, MN. They are incredibly talented, rather sardonic, very tuned in to making dance music, and have great taste in music. I danced pretty much the entire time they played, then had to take a break and play music between their sets. Here's what I played during the first short break:

1. Four Or Five Times - Kid Ory - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:14 - 142
2. Stuffy - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Jammin' the Blues - 3:46 - 150
3. If You're A Viper - Helen Humes - Deed I Do - 3:41 - 100
4. A Smo-o-oth One - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:16 - 130
5. One O'Clock Jump - Delta Rhythm Boys - The Best Of 1940-50 - 2:40 - 180

During the second break we had a little jack & jill contest. Here's the tracks I picked out for the contest. They were supposed to be medium, slow, and fast tempo. The second track isn't all that slow but it is groovier. The third track isn't all that fast--I picked it at the last second (as the slow track was playing) because I thought it would be better to play something comfortable for the dancers in the contest than to make them all sweat too much.

1. My Baby Likes To Be-Bop - Ella Fitzgerald - Swingin' Ella - 2:45 - 139
2. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18 - 125
3. You Talk a Little Trash - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Crazy Rhythm - 3:55 - 170

Congrats to all the contestants! And thanks a bunch to Jumptown for having us out. We had a great time dancing with y'all.

BPM graphs

Someone asked about how I make the BPM sparklines and frequency distributions that I post with each of my sets, so I thought I'd explain. It isn't a very elegant method: I export each setlist from my media player, copy it into Excel, and use a spreadsheet that I have set up to generate Google Chart API code. The code is embedded in the links I post, so the graph is generated when you click the link. To do this yourself, you need JRiver Media Center (or some other way of exporting setlists) and Excel.

1. Create a customized view in your J-River Media Center. Under View->Customize View, select the following Columns to show, in this order: Name, Artist, Album, Duration, BPM. Click on Preset, save this view as "Setlist Export."
2. Play a set, save it as a playlist. When viewing the playlist, select View->Customize View, then click on Preset and select "Setlist Export." Hit okay.
3. Select File->Export Playlist, choose "Text File, delimited" and include fields "Only Visible Fields." Remember where the file is going to be saved, then hit okay.
4. Download this excel file that I created, open it up, and select the tab called "set data."
5. Find the set list file you just saved, open it in a text editor. Select all, hit Ctrl-C to copy it, and paste it into cell A1 of the excel sheet. It should automatically open the Text-to-Columns dialogue box. Enter "|" as the delimiter, hit okay. Your set should now appear in columns C through G of this sheet.
6. Go to the "output" tab. Enter a title for your set into cell B1. Copy the contents of cell B4 and paste it into your internet browser. You should see a sparkline. Do the same with cell B5 to get the frequency distribution.
7. Exclaim something nerdy. "Neato!" or "Mwaaaaaaahhhahaha!" would be appropriate.
8. Go to column K of the tab "set data." Fill down to the end of your set, then copy-paste this into your blog entry to get the nicely formatted setlist.
9. Leave a comment to this post and let me know how it works. Also let me know if you have improvements or alternative methods that work better.

By the way, back when I was using a Mac, I had a series of AppleScripts that did all this stuff. It was a bit cleaner than using Excel.

Swing, IN 2010

This past weekend Jenna and I were at Swing, IN in Indianapolis to teach and to play music and to dance and dance and dance and dance. Many of my favorite people were all in the same place at the same time, which was an all- too-rare treat for me. (Plus I get some them again next weekend!)

The Saturday night dance featured the Boilermaker Jazz Band in very fine form--I'm not a huge fan of most sax solos, but Paul Cosentino effectively persuaded me otherwise that night. I played during the band breaks--both short, as you can tell from the lists below. Here's the music from just after the first set:

• Moten Swing - Barney Kessel - To Swing Or Not To Swing - 3:57 - 160
• I Love Jazz - Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong - 4:40 - 170
• My Blue Heaven - The Cangelosi Cards - Clinton Street Recordings, I - 4:11 - 145
• Daphne - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:03 - 210
• The Back Room Romp - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 2:49 - 150

And here's the tracks from after the second set (between the team comps and the strictly):

• Peckin' - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:30 - 180
• Blue Drag - Earl Hines - Swingin' Down - 2:59 - 140
• He Ain't Got Rhythm (Jimmy Rushing, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:49 - 155
• The Right Idea - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:13 - 185
• Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 - 170

Sunday night brought us a dj'ed dance, featuring tunes picked by Jason Zabinski, Brian Tietz, and me. Jason's taste is impeccable (up to and including his choices for men's and women's deodorant), so of course I enjoyed his set. I'd never met Brian before but I was quite impressed by all of his sets. He opened the Friday late night and hit just the right note, keeping the music solidly swinging and energetic until the jack and jill finals. He read the room well on Sunday evening too. At one point he played an uptempo swing version of the Super Mario Brothers theme, and initially I was thinking, "really did he just go there?" but once I saw the reaction from the crowd (and the jam that broke out) I concede that it was a perfect call.

I played the last set of the evening dance on Sunday, and didn't think too hard about my picks. Mostly I was sorting my music by rating and picking all the tracks that I'd rated as 4 or 5 stars. Here's my set, along with BPM sparkline and frequency distribution:

1. Fiddle Dee Dee - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 2:39 - 195 (I like using songs with unusual introductions as the first track of a set, especially if I'm picking up after announcements or something. It gives people a chance to find a dance partner, and hopefully catches their ear. This one has a mysterious introduction that lasts for about 45 seconds, and then it starts to swing like hell.)
2. Good Queen Bess - Johnny Hodges - Perfect Swing - 3:02 - 155
3. Ochi Chornya - Wingy Manone - Wingy Manone: 1940-1944 - 2:54 - 165 (also known as Dark Eyes.)
4. Spreadin' Rhythm Around - Billie Holiday - Swing Brother Swing - 2:52 - 195 (For Bigs.)
5. On The Sunny Side of The Street - Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy Gillespie et son orchestre : 1951-1952 - 3:07 - 135 (For Tigert.)
6. Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong - Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography Disc 1 - 3:19 - 115
7. Solid As A Rock - Count Basie - Count Basie Et Son Orchestre 1950-1951 - 3:03 - 135
8. My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148 (For Jason.)
9. The Five Pennies - The Famous Castle Jazz Band - The Five Pennies - 2:52 - 205
10. Shine On Harvest Moon - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:50 - 160
11. Gettin' In The Groove - Panama Francis & his Savoy Sultans - Gettin' in the groove (Paris 1971) - 3:06 - 130
12. Little Jazz - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 3:06 - 140 (Because Jump Through the Window had already been played about 8 times.)
13. Cole Slaw - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:44 - 135
14. Just A Gigolo, I Ain't Got Nobody - Louis Prima - Louis Prima - Retro High School Party - 4:43 - 125 (I had one person come up and thank me for playing this one because it's her favorite. I also had one person come up and tell me that they think this song is annoying as hell, but they had an amazing dance to it just now. So there.)
15. The Darktown Strutters' Ball - Alberta Hunter - Amtrak Blues - 5:23 - 150 (I heard someone exclaim "Yes!" when this one came on.)
16. Sweet Georgia Brown - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman: Very Best of Benny Goodman - 3:07 - 175
17. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200 (Never gets old.)
18. Ridin' And Jivin' - Earl Hines - Rosetta - 2:39 - 155
19. Perdido Street Blues - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 - 3:08 - 145 (Forgot that this song was played already this weekend.)
20. Somebody Loves Me - Stuff Smith - Cat On A Hot Fiddle - 3:42 - 150
21. My Daddy Rocks Me - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman et son orchestre: 1945 Vol.2 - 2:48 - 100
22. Put A Lid On It - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot - 2:39 - 198
23. Beans And Corn Bread - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:50 - 215 (This song was stuck in my wife's head all weekend.)
24. Heart Of Steel - Galactic - Ya-Ka-May - 3:27 -
25. I've Been Loving You Too Long - Otis Redding - Good To Me: Recorded Live At The Whiskey A Go Go Volume 2 - 5:51 -

DJing for newer dancers

dogpossum, an Australian DJ, recently posted some interesting thoughts about how to DJ for newer dancers. I agree with nearly all of what she says. The only thing I might push back on is the tempo stuff--I'd say that the rule on tempo should always be to feel it out based on the crowd at the moment. So I agree in principle that there should be no rules for tempo, but some nights you will find that the crowd just won't dance to anything over 175. On nights like that, you should just give them what they want, rather than trying to push the boundaries to demonstrate that "there are no rules."

Also, maybe it's a difference in scenes, but I'm in a really weird place right now with neo swing. I'd guess that most lindy hoppers around here would react with something like "Are you f-ing kidding me?" if they heard neo at Fizz or some other venue around town. But lately my dance partner and I have been....yes, I admit it...kind of okay with a little neo flavor every now and again. Just every once in a while, it can be fun in a cheesetastic sort of way. Even more, I kind of wish someone would play Cherry Poppin' Daddies or something like that at the big events, just to remind everyone not to take themselves too seriously. Since after all, we are swing dancers, not Alvin Ailey...and swing is awesome and all but honestly swing dancing gives you just slightly more respect than being really good at Magic: The Gathering.

stupid iPod

So last Monday at Fizz I stepped in to DJ at the last minute, and all I had was my iPod. I DJed by continually adding songs to an on-the-go playlist. It's a very handy feature that I use all the time, but it has one very irksome glitch. If you add songs to the end of a playlist while the playlist is already going, the iPod will not cycle through the whole list. Instead, it will give the appearance of cycling through the list, but actually go back and start playing the first track again. So for instance, say that I set up a playlist with four songs on it:

1. Louis Armstrong - Georgia Grind

2. Lavern Baker - Gimme a Pigfoot
3. Artie Shaw - Everything is Jumpin'
4. Duke Ellington - Peckin'

Then I hit play, and as Lavern Baker is going, I add two more songs to the list:

5. Cab Calloway - Wah De Dah
6. Jay McShann - Gone with the Blues

So after Duke Ellington finishes, the iPod gives the appearance of playing Cab Calloway. But the music coming out of the wire is actually the start of Louis Armstrong again.

Anybody else had this problem? Is there anything you can do about it?

Fizz setlist 8-16-2010

Last Monday I stepped in to DJ the late set at Fizz after a super-last-minute cancellation. I only had my iPod with me, and I had to be up fairly early the following day, so I volunteered with the understanding that I'd DJ for an hour, then set a playlist and go home, retrieving my iPod later. As the early DJ, my friend Chris, finished his set, I frantically set up an on-the-go playlist for after I left, then saved it and cleared the on-the-go playlist so that I could spin live. I hung around for about an hour, fiddling with my iPod. (I had the usual difficulties with on-the-go playlists. More details to follow.)

As I was getting ready to set a playlist and take off, I decided that the list I'd already put together would be a disaster, so I ended up picking entirely different tracks to play after I'd taken off. I felt like the crowd was going in a different direction than I'd anticipated, so I tried to pick some songs that would match the mood. Not sure if it made any difference--I was pretty much just taking shots in the dark. Here's all of the tracks I played, both before and after I left, along with BPM sparkline and frequency distribution.

1. For Dancers Only - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Swingmatism - 2:34 - 159
2. St. Louis Blues - Earl Hines - Earl Hines/Jimmy Rushing: Blues & Things - 4:38 - 150
3. One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer - Jimmy Witherspoon - Jazz Me Blues - The Best of Jimmy Witherspoon - 3:00 - 120
4. Shake That Thing - Wynonie Harris - Risque Blues - It Ain't the Meat - 2:17 - 135
5. Solid As A Rock - Count Basie - Count Basie Et Son Orchestre 1950-1951 - 3:03 - 135
6. Posin' - Jimmie Lunceford - Jukebox Hits 1935-1947 - 3:01 - 190
7. Life Is So Peculiar with Louis Jordan - Louis Armstrong - The Wonderful Duets - 3:24 - 115
8. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Dizzy Gillespie - The Champ - 3:09 - 137
9. Take My Love With You - Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves - (Am I Just) Fooling Myself? - 3:37 - 138 (This was the first song of a soul/blues interlude that seemed to go over pretty well.)
10. You Can Have My Husband - Koko Taylor - The Earthshaker - 2:47 - 130
11. The Deacon's Moan - Wycliffe Gordon - The Gospel Truth - 6:42 - 90
12. Every Day I Have the Blues / Goin' to Chicago Blues - The Four Tops - Lost and Found: Four Tops "Breaking Through" (1963-1964) - 3:50 - 138
13. Four Or Five Times - Kid Ory - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:14 - 142 (Back to jazz.)
14. Lavender Coffin - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 4: Midnight Sun - 2:47 - 135
15. Bring It On Down - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 2:34 - 175
16. Come On Over To My House - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:52 - 145 (I finished setting up a playlist and then left during this song.)
17. Shiny Stockings - Count Basie - April In Paris - 5:17 - 120
18. It Takes Two To Tango - Lester Young - Lester Young : 1951-1952 - 3:14 - 100
19. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18 - 125
20. Centerpiece - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Live at the Legion - 5:06 - 111
21. Honeysuckle Rose - Katherine Davis - Dream Shoes - 3:14 - 145
22. All Of Me - Twin Cities Hot Club - Twin Cities Hot Club - 4:10 - 165
23. Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong - Ken Burns Jazz - 2:24 - 155
24. Ballin' The Jack - Eddie Condon - We Called It Music - 2:18 - 180
25. Billie's Blues - Billie Holiday - Blue Billie - 2:40 - 120
26. My Blue Heaven - The Cangelosi Cards - Clinton Street Recordings, I - 4:11 - 145
27. Just A Gigolo, I Ain't Got Nobody - Louis Prima - Retro High School Party - 4:43 - 125
28. Hey Spo-Dee-O-Dee - Wild Bill Moore - Retro High School Party - 2:44 - 160
29. Move Me Baby - Jimmy Witherspoon & The Lamplighters - Retro High School Party - 2:33 - 135
30. If You a Viper - Erin McKeown - Sing You Sinners - 4:19 - 90
31. When You're Smiling - The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn - Forty Days and Forty Nights - 3:51 - 215