Thursday, June 24, 2010
More DJ theory
Here's a nice post from Kyle Smith about what DJs should be going for when they're spinning for an evening. Kyle has been head DJ for All Balboa Weekend for a long time, and really knows his stuff.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Fizz setlist 6-21-2010
It was a hot, sweaty night at Fizz, thanks to the humidity and the full house. I was subbing for my friend Chris, whose laptop died. (Back up your music now, folks!) In comparison to last week, I felt like I wasn't able to stay ahead of the crowd to the same degree, but I was still pretty happy with how this set turned out. The tempos tended to be slower, because of the heat, but I still had a good range (as you can see from the sparkline and frequency distribution, which is more gamma than gaussian) and a good diversity of music (including some old chestnuts). Here's the set:
- Apex Blues - The Wolverines Jazz Band Of Bern - Wolverines Of Bern At 35 - 4:29 - 110
- Sit Down Baby - Susie Arioli Band - Pennies From Heaven - 3:29 - 130
- I'll Always Be In Love With You - Benny Goodman - 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert Plus 1944-47 - 3:11 - 135
- Spring Cleaning - Fats Waller - Portrait Vol. 2: Old Plantation - 2:27 - 165
- If You're A Viper - Kermit Ruffins - The Big Butter & Egg Man - 3:08 - 170
- Don't Be That Way - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 2:35 - 132
- Did I Remember - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 3:03 - 140
- She's Got The Blues For Sale - Billy Eckstine - Timeless Billy Eckstine - 3:01 - 140
- The Spinach Song - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends - Kansas City's First Lady Of The Blues - 2:59 - 160
- Sure, Had A Wonderful Time - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 3:00 - 135
- My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148
- A Viper's Moan - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Call Of The Freaks - 3:30 - 140
- Papa's In Bed With His Britches On - Cab Calloway - Are You Hep To The Jive? - 2:32 - 167
- Big John's Special - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:08 - 183
- Worry Bird - Johnny Hartman - The Johnny Hartman Collection 1947-1972 - 2:40 - 125
- Taking a Chance on Love - Anita O'Day - Anita Sings the Most - 2:24 - 135
- Sad Sap Sucker Am I - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 3:06 - 140
- I Can't Believe You're in Love With Me - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Give Me Your Telephone Number - 3:52 - 167
- Get Rhythm In Your Feet - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Call Of The Freaks - 2:20 - 185
- One O'Clock Jump - Count Basie - Swinging The Blues: 1930-1939 - 3:03 - 171
- Did You Mean It? (Ella Fitzgerald, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:22 - 150
- Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:21 - 140
- Gimme A Pigfoot - Lavern Baker - LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 3:09 - 120
- Summertime - Hep Chaps - Swingin' On Nothing - 4:01 - 135
- Jump Through The Window - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 2:44 - 145
- Smack Dab In The Middle - George Gee - Swingin - 3:00 - 142
- Flat Foot Floogee - Ray Bryant - Swing Dance Special - 2:42 - 160
- Twenty-Four Robbers - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:45 - 190
- No Regrets - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 2:52 - 130
- Strictly Instrumental - Harry James - The Best Of Big Bands - 2:56 - 135
- Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160
- In the Mood - Glenn Miller - Best of the Lost Recordings & The Secret Broadcasts - 3:15 - 180
- Go Harlem - Chick Webb - Spinnin' the Webb - 2:19 - 210
- Solid As A Rock - Count Basie - Count Basie Et Son Orchestre 1950-1951 - 3:03 - 135
- Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42 - 125
- My Daddy Rocks Me - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman et son orchestre: 1945 Vol.2 - 2:48 - 100
- Singin' the Blues Till My Daddy Comes Home - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Live at the Legion - 3:25 - 128
- Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me - Sidney Bechet - The Fabulous Sidney Bechet - 5:43 - 145
- Smooth Sailing - Ella Fitzgerald - Bluella: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Blues - 3:08 - 128
The last song was a birthday/Ph.D. jam. (Congratulations, Sophia!)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
My jazz can beat up your jazz
Heh. I just found Glenn Crytzer's blog. Crytzer is a musician and band leader from Seattle, a guy who is really interested in swing-era jazz. It's great stuff, especially if you (like me) want to learn more about swing music. His passion comes through really clearly, as does his sharp tongue:
"I just like to move to the music, I don't really care what it is" doesn't equate to "I'm a free spirit and just love the feeling of movement, all music is wonderful cause it's amazing", it actually equates to "Shucks Ma, why's I got to learn to read, I just likes lookin at the picters." If you're not dancing to the music (or not deliberately dancing NOT to the music for our modern dance friends), you're not dancing, you're just moving around - take an aerobics class.Zing! I'd recommend starting here, with an enlightening posts about what makes swing music swing music. Then here, with an explanation of the contrast between different styles of jazz (trad. jazz, swing, bebop, etc.).
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Fizz setlist 6-14-2010
Fun night at Fizz last night. This past weekend was CUBE (the Chicago Underground Blues Experience, which organizes around the Chicago Blues Festival), so there were a number of blues dancers in the house. I tried to mix in some blues and bluesy-sounding material starting around 10:15--not sure that they approved, but whatever. On the whole, my set turned out to be a bit faster than normal; see here and here for the data. I was pretty happy with this set, I felt like I was leading the crowd the whole time--giving them styles that they wanted to hear, and then moving on to the next thing, before they got sick of the first. I also had quite a few people coming up and talking to me, asking questions, and complimenting the music (always nice!). I ended up passing out a few cards. (So if you took one and are now reading this...welcome to the blog! Leave a comment!) Here's what I played, from 9:00 to about 11:30:
- Tuxedo Junction - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Ain't No School Like the Old School - 3:14 - 155
- Snatch And Grab It - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends - Kansas City's First Lady Of The Blues - 2:56 - 180
- You Can Stay But That Jive's Got To Go - Dusty Brooks - Dusty Brooks - Swing Time Jive - 2:38 - 155
- Pick-a-Rib - The Bob Wilber & Dany Doritz Quintet - Memories of you : Lionel and Benny - 3:03 - 155
- Now Or Never - Katharine Whalen - Jazz Squad - 2:13 - 165
- Strictly Jive - Chick Webb - Stomping At The Savoy - 3:19 - 170
- Stay Cool - Count Basie - Blues By Basie-One O'Clock Jump - 3:12 - 155
- Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five - Jukebox Hits Volume 1 1942-1947 - 2:45 - 165 (By request)
- Rock Me All Night Long - The Fabulous Treniers - The Hoss Allen Sessions - 2:41 - 155
- Shotgun Boogie - Paul Tillotson the Love Trio - Lindy Hop Blues - 2:55 - 165 (The boogie music seemed to be a hit with folks.)
- All Of Me - Barbara Morrison - Live At The Dakota, Volume 2 - 3:34 - 175
- Pennies From Heaven - Sy Oliver - Yes Indeed - 4:03 - 180
- Old Maid Boogie - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Meat's Too High - Blues, Boogie & Bebop - 2:38 - 150
- Cole Slaw - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:44 - 135 (Start of a long build.)
- I Want a Tall Skinny Pappa - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:52 - 140
- Ballin' The Jack - Kid Ory - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:15 - 145
- When I Take My Sugar to Tea - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - Jump for Joy - 4:00 - 165
- Functionizin' - Fats Waller - If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It! - 3:05 - 170
- San Francisco Bay Blues - Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band - Blues Over Bodega - 3:41 - 160
- Pantin' In The Panther Room - Fats Waller - Fats Waller: 1940-1941 - 3:04 - 180
- Diga Diga Doo - Artie Shaw - The Very Best of Artie Shaw - 2:40 - 200
- I Like Pie, I Like Cake - The Four Clefs - The Jive Is Jumpin' - 2:51 - 155
- My Blue Heaven - Stuff Smith - Swingin' Stuff - 3:46 - 160
- Boys from Harlem - Randy Sandke And The Nagel Heyer Allstars - Uptown Lowdown - 3:33 - 160
- She's Never Satisfied - George Gee - Buddha Boogie - 4:59 - 150
- Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:21 - 140 (This was my transition to bluesy-sounding stuff.)
- Country Man - Carrie Smith - When You're Down and Out - 3:46 - 145
- Twenty-Nine Ways - Koko Taylor - South Side Lady (Live in Netherlands 1973) - 3:53 - 125
- My Bad Luck Soul - Janiva Magness Band - My Bad Luck Soul - 2:10 - 160
- The Feeling Music Brings - Susan Tedeschi - Austin City Limits: Live From Austin, TX - 5:20 - 120
- Back Water Blues - Lavern Baker - LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 4:41 - 100 (Meant to play a different song here, not quite so long...but my mp3 player spat it out and I scrambled to grab this one.)
- Honeysuckle Rose - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 2:56 - 170 (I've used this transition trick in the past...this song starts out at about 110 for the introduction, then jumps to 170.)
- She's Got The Blues For Sale - Billy Eckstine - Timeless Billy Eckstine - 3:01 - 140
- For Dancers Only - Duke Ellington - Recollections Of The Big Band Era - 3:04 - 145
- Ridin' And Jivin' - Earl Hines - Rosetta - 2:39 - 155
- Sent For You Yesterday - Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 2:58 - 165
- Lumby - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - 1941 Transcription Performance - 2:43 - 180 (GDubs, did you work it?)
- There's Rhythm In Harlem - Mills Blue Rhythm Band - Mills Blue Rhythm Band: 1933-1936 - 3:11 - 205
- That's Rhythm - Rex Stewart - Jazz Foundations, Vol. 62 - 2:52 - 145
- It's You Who Taught It To Me - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:42 - 160
- Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200
- On the Sunny Side of the Street - Harold Nicholas - Jazz In Paris: Chanteurs-Chanteuses - 4:01 - 110
- All Of Me - Twin Cities Hot Club - Twin Cities Hot Club - 4:10 - 165
- Life Begins When You're In Love - Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Master Takes And Singles - 3:02 - 180
Saturday, June 5, 2010
First Friday at Big City Swing 6/4/2010
Here's my setlist from last night at Big City Swing. I DJ'ed on the first floor for the entire evening (3+ hours, which I usually split with one other DJ). It was a very humid, warm evening, so I had to experiment a bit to see what sort of tempos people felt up for. As you'll see from the BPM charts, I mostly kept things between 120 and 160 bpm, because of the temperature and what I could gather about the dancers' tastes. Mid-way through the evening, a group from one of Big City's performance class debuted the choreography that they'd been learning, which was cool to see.
Most of the time I enjoy going for longer sets because it lets me pace and plan things a little bit more than an hour or hour-and-a-half set would. But this evening was a little bit of a challenge because everyone went upstairs (for an encore performance of the choreography) at one point, so the whole floor cleared out. And then folks didn't trickle back in until a half hour later, which made for an odd dynamic. As people started coming back from upstairs, I tried to play some more familiar music with a good vibe to it, so that they'd come back in instead of heading out for the evening.
- All Right, Okay, You Win - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 2:45 - 145
- Opus One - Tommy Dorsey - The Fabulous Swing Collection - 2:58 - 165
- Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 - 170
- Rose Room - Artie Shaw - King Of The Clarinet - 2:43 - 155
- My Baby's Sweet - Stompy Jones - The Swing Session - 3:08 - 155
- Vine Street Boogie - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:37 - 155
- Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - 3:21 - 140
- Honey Pie - Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Miss Thing! - 4:10 - 150
- Deed I Do - Katharine Whalen - Jazz Squad - 2:42 - 170
- It's You Who Taught It To Me - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:42 - 160
- Flying Home - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - The Fabulous Swing Collection - 2:54 - 185
- Le Jazz Hot - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:44 - 140
- Bill Bailey - Ella Fitzgerald - Something To Live For - 3:26 - 132
- Someday You'll Want Me To Want You - Catherine Russell - Cat - 3:13 - 145
- Ja-Da - Stuff Smith - Stuff Smith/ Dizzy Gillespie/ Oscar Peterson - 4:04 - 150
- What's Your Name? - Echoes of Swing - You've Got To Be Modernistic - 3:18 - 155
- Love Me or Leave Me - Banu Gibson - Let Yourself Go - 3:07 - 165
- Shine On Harvest Moon - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:50 - 160
- The Five Pennies - The Famous Castle Jazz Band - The Five Pennies - 2:52 - 205
- Cole Slaw - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:44 - 135 (Following this, the BCS class performed for the first time.)
- Summertime - Gordon Webster - Happy When I'm With You - 4:04 - 120
- Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams - Kermit Ruffins - Putumayo Presents: Kermit Ruffins - 3:38 - 122
- Lean Baby - Illinois Jacquet - Flying Home - 3:05 - 125
- I'm Beginning To See The Light - Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington - Compact Jazz - 3:26 - 132
- She's Never Satisfied - George Gee - Buddha Boogie - 4:59 - 150
- They Raided The Joint - Helen Humes - Let The Good Times Roll - 3:19 - 160
- Old Mother Hubbard - Ella Fitzgerald - Swingin' Ella - 2:44 - 145
- El Salon De Gutbucket - Engelbert Wröbel's Swing Society - Sophisticated Swing - 5:16 - 140
- Chicken Shack Boogie - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 4: Midnight Sun - 3:16 - 125
- Ballin' The Jack - Earl Hines - Live Broadcasts From The Hangover Club - 4:00 - 145 (People started trickling in again around here.)
- On Revival Day - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 3:16 - 143
- My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148
- On The Sunny Side Of The Street - James Booker - New Orleans Piano Wizard: Live! - 3:42 - 125
- Jersey Bounce - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:07 - 132
- Banana Split for My Baby - Louis Prima - The Wildest! - 2:31 - 137
- Jump Session - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1939 - 2:35 - 160
- Savoy Blues - Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen - Trad Jazz Masters - 3:53 - 135
- (Today's The Day) I'm Glad I'm Not Dead - Indigo Swing - All Aboard! - 4:03 - 120
- Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160
- Too Darn Hot - Ella Fitzgerald - Mack The Knife: The Complete Ella In Berlin - 3:16 - 160
- Corner Pocket - Count Basie - April In Paris - 5:07 - 140
- Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong - Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography Disc 1 - 3:19 - 115
- Cheek To Cheek - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis - 5:53 - 124
- Perdido Street Blues - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 - 3:08 - 145 (Three Louis Armstrong tracks in a row, I know. But they're all very different styles. And if there's anyone you'd want to hear three in a row from, wouldn't it be Louis?)
- Dark Eyes - Fats Waller - Happy Birthday Fats Vol. 1 - 3:22 - 160
- Do You Wanna Jump, Children? - Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings - 2:41 - 205
- Fever - Barbara Morrison - Live at the 9:20 Special - 4:35 - 133
- Splanky - The Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Live at the Legion - 4:31 - 135
- B.O. Blues - Rex Stewart - Jazz Foundations, Vol. 62 - Rex Stewart - 2:49 - 95 (I thought this one was appropriate, given the heat and humidity.)
- Fibre de verre - Paris Combo - Attraction - 3:39 - 135
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