Saturday, March 24, 2012

Fizz 3/19/2012

I was a bit swamped this week, so it's taken me until now to post my setlist from last Monday at Fizz. Still pretty busy, so I'll post without comment (but with the BPM sparkline and histogram). Here's what I played:
  1. Swing It, Sister - The Mills Brothers - The Mills Brothers: Chronological Vol. 2 - 2:38 - 205
  2. Ain't Misbehavin' - Fats Waller - The Very Best of Fats Waller - 3:59 - 100
  3. Page Mr. Trumpet - Pete Johnson - NSC111 NATIONAL - 2:52 - 165
  4. Rose Room - Crytzer's Blue Rhythm Band - Chasin' the Blues - 2:49 - 160
  5. Come On Over To My House - Jay McShann - Jumpin' The Blues - 2:52 - 145
  6. Gettin' In The Groove - Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans - 1938-1941 - 2:58 - 140
  7. Shake That Thing - Wynonie Harris - Risque Blues - It Ain't the Meat - 2:17 - 135
  8. Savoy Blues - The Wolverines Jazz Band Of Bern - Wolverines Of Bern At 35 - 3:56 - 140
  9. Louisiana - Barney Kessel - To Swing Or Not To Swing - 3:56 - 140
  10. Sad Sap Sucker Am I - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 3:06 - 140
  11. Fat and Greasy - Fats Waller - Ain't Misbehavin - 3:09 - 160
  12. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - Benny Goodman - The Very Best of Benny Goodman - 3:26 - 170
  13. Madame Dynamite - Eddie Condon - Let's Swing It - 2:55 - 185
  14. Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard - 1938-46 - 2:38 - 170
  15. Swingin' On Nothin' - Midnight Serenaders - Hot Lovin' - 3:50 - 200
  16. Miss Brown To You - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 3:15 - 145
  17. Somebody Loves Me - Stuff Smith - Cat On A Hot Fiddle - 3:42 - 150
  18. On The Sunny Side of the Street - Benny Goodman - The Yale University Archives, Volume 3: Big Band In Europe - 3:11 - 135
  19. Duke's Place - Ella Fitzgerald - Something To Live For - 4:13 - 140
  20. Exactly Like You - Casey Driscoll - Le Mer - 4:16 - 185
  21. Good Queen Bess - Johnny Hodges & His Orchestra - Passion Flower 1940-46 - 2:59 - 160
  22. Nona - Erskine Hawkins - Vintage Dance Orchestras No. 277 - 2:44 - 145
  23. Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160
  24. Everybody Loves My Baby - Catherine Russell - Strictly Romancin' - 3:22 - 200
  25. The Dipsey Doodle - Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Call Of The Freaks - 2:58 - 180
  26. Junk Man - Midnight Serenaders - Hot Lovin' - 4:39 - 110
  27. Downright Disgusted Blues - Chu Berry - Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions - 2:31 - 125
  28. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me - Sidney Bechet - Jazz in Paris: Sydney Bechet et Claude Luter - 2:40 - 145
  29. Le Jazz Hot - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:44 - 140
  30. My Daddy Rocks Me - Benny Goodman - 1945 Vol.2 - 2:48 - 100
  31. Peckin' - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 3:09 - 160
  32. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It - Papa Bues Viking Jazzband - Live In Copenhagen - 3:36 - 135
  33. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 5:16 - 150

Sunday, March 4, 2012

First Friday at Big City Swing 3/2/2012



Friday night was one of the crazier First Fridays in recent memory. Perhaps it was the busload of eager high-schoolers who showed up for the lesson, maybe also the group of college students who'd driven several hours to come to the dance. Maybe the camera crew from ABC, filming a segment on swing dancing for 190 North. Or the OTHER camera crew, in from Korea to film a documentary about American jazz culture (or something like that).

Anyways, add it all up and it was pretty nutso. Despite my best efforts to drive people away (cf #22 below), the floor stayed pretty jammed all night, with the exception of the "jam" that we staged for the benefit of the cameras. (They wanted to capture the natives in their natural habitat.) I ended up playing mostly modern bands, with just a few classic swing tracks--the crowd seemed pretty new, and seemed to respond best to the brighter and crisper sounds of modern recordings. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't skewed so heavily toward new stuff. Here's the usual BPM sparkline and histogram, and here's my setlist:
  1. Route 66 - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 4:24 - 150
  2. All Of Me - Della Reese - Cocktail Classics - 2:01 - 160
  3. Slow Boat to China - The Boilermaker Jazz Band - The Mood I'm In - 3:37 - 160
  4. Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 - 170
  5. Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Louis Jordan - Jukebox Hits Volume 1 1942-1947 - 2:45 - 165
  6. Sing Me a Swing Song (And Let Me Dance) - Benny Goodman - The Birth of Swing - 2:23 - 177
  7. My Blue Heaven - The Cangelosi Cards - Clinton Street Recordings, I - 4:11 - 145
  8. Jersey Bounce - Bernard Berkhout - Doctor Bernard and His Swing Orchestra - 3:27 - 135
  9. Rose Room - Crytzer's Blue Rhythm Band - Chasin' the Blues - 2:49 - 160
  10. I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 3:13 - 160
  11. 8, 9 And 10 - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:43 - 175
  12. Blue Drag - The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn - Permanent Magic - 3:40 - 190
  13. Rosetta - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Ol' New Orleans Home - 3:36 - 205 (I love how lazy this track is, despite the tempo.)
  14. A Woman's Intuition - Stompy Jones - Stompy Jones - 3:17 - 140
  15. All Right, Okay, You Win - Joe Williams - The Definitive Joe Williams - 3:05 - 130 
  16. Twenty-Four Robbers - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:10 - 140
  17. Six-appeal - Charlie Christian - Six-appeal - 3:20 - 145
  18. All I Know - The Countdown Quartet - Sadlack's Stomp - 2:56 - 125
  19. Last Night On The Backporch - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Ol' New Orleans Home - 4:10 - 150
  20. Put A Lid On It - Davina & The Vagabonds - Live @ The Times - 3:13 - 170
  21. Satchel Mouth Baby - Catherine Russell - Strictly Romancin' - 3:19 - 130 (Off her new album, which is FULL of great stuff)
  22. Prince Nez - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot - 2:53 - 180 (This song doubles in tempo midway through, topping out at about 350 bpm)
  23. Lindyhopper's Delight - Chick Webb - Strictly Jive - 2:45 - 195 (Jam circle)
  24. I Can't Dance I Got Ants In My Pants - The Smoking Time Jazz Club - Quarter Note Vol. 1 - 4:13 - 210 (Jam circle continued)
  25. Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160 (right in to shim-sham)
  26. Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam) - Glenn Miller - Perfect Swing - 3:36 - 165
  27. Le Jazz Hot - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:44 - 140
  28. Ridin' And Jivin' - Earl Hines - Rosetta - 2:39 - 155 (The trombone player on this track has a dirty, dirty mind.)
  29. Why Don't You Do Right - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:17 - 125
  30. Swing Brother Swing - Miss Sophie Lee - Tallulah Moon - 3:55 - 165
  31. Just A Closer Walk With Thee - The Smoking Time Jazz Club - Quarter Note Vol. 1 - 6:06 - 75/160 (I started this track midway through the slow section. Lots of confused looks at first, until it picked up and started to swing. I wanted to play this one not just because it's a good tune, but to make sure that Bob, who was up to DJ right after me, would be kept on his toes. Don't want to let his reflexes get too dull.)