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:

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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