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....

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.

Judging

Someone asked me the other day whether I judged at the Hawkeye Swing Fest. I said something like "Well, I wasn't an official judge (I was DJing the contests), but that doesn't mean I wasn't judging..."

Heh....

That's a joke folks...actually many dancers I know should really add "professional sideline judge" to their dance resumes. Some of them are pretty ruthless critics too.

Hawkeye Swing Festival, 4/9/2010

This past weekend I had the chance to DJ, teach (with Jenna), and dance myself silly at the Hawkeye Swing Festival in Iowa City, IA. It was a fantastic time, particularly due to the quality of the live music that was featured: Robert Bell and the Hot Swing Combo (who were captivating as always), Davina & the Vagabonds (first time I've heard them...more on that in another post), and the Solomon Douglas Swingtet. Since my DJ responsibilities were limited to band breaks and the competitions, I had plenty of time to dance, which was great. Below is a recap of the music I played on the band breaks and for the competitions.

Friday evening I played these songs during the first band break:

• Pick-a-Rib - The Bob Wilber & Dany Doritz Quintet - Memories of you : Lionel and Benny - 3:03 - 155
• You Can Stay But That Jive's Got To Go - Dusty Brooks - Dusty Brooks - Swing Time Jive - 2:38 - 155
• Honeysuckle Rose - Django Reinhardt - The Swing Sessions Volume 1 - 2:49 - 180
• Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:50 - 190
• Ain't Misbehavin' - Sidney Bechet - Perdido Street Blues - 2:52 - 145
• I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 4:28 - 162

Following that, we ran the Jack & Jill prelimary round. Just like last year, I tried to balance the tune selections across the two heats of dancers, playing about a minute and a half each of a medium, slow, and faster tune. Heat 1:

• Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - B.G. In Hi-Fi - 3:05 - 155
• Ballin' The Jack - Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:15 - 145
• Back Bay Shuffle - Artie Shaw - His First Three Bands: 1936-1940 - 3:15 - 190

Heat 2:

• Two O'Clock Jump - Harry James - Trumpet Blues: The Best Of Harry James - 3:00 - 155
• Four or Five Times - Joe Williams - For Dancers Only! - 4:48 - 135
• Boo-Wah Boo-Wah - Cab Calloway - Are You Hep To The Jive? - 2:49 - 190

During the second band break, there was only time for two tracks of social dancing...

• Betcha Nickel - Ella Fitzgerald - My Heart Belongs to Daddy - 2:51 - 160
• Little Jazz - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 3:06 - 191

...before the finals of the Jack & Jill. The first song was an all-skate warm-up, the second song was for the spotlight:

• It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 3:15 - 180
• Stitches - Panama Francis & his Savoy Sultans - Gettin' in the groove (Paris 1971) - 2:41 - 205

I had to re-start "Stitches" once since it is only 4 choruses long (there were five couples in the finals, times two spotlights each, times eight 8-counts per spotlight makes 80 8-counts or 5 choruses). Picking spot-light songs is tricky--it's hard to anticipate what music will be best, since you don't know what sort of dancers will be in the finals until a couple minutes beforehand. I've found that it's definitely helpful to note down the length (in choruses) and phrasing of any songs you are considering for a spotlight competition. More on that later as well.

After the band's second set, I played a few more songs for social dancing:

• My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148
• Perdido Street Blues - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 - 3:08 - 145
• Ya Gotta See Baby Tonight - Louis Prima - Louis Prima et son orchestre : 1945 - 2:24 - 145
• Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong - Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography - 3:19 - 115
• 'Tain't No Use - Maxine Sullivan - The Lady's In Love With You - 3:48 - 125

At 1 in the morning, we ran the "Slow-Lindy/Blues" strictly competition. Here are the songs from the preliminary round:

• Evil Gal Blues - Aretha Franklin - Aretha Sings The Blues - 2:43 - 118
• Soothe Me - The Simms Twins - Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story: 1959 - 1965 (Disc 2) - 2:17 - 110
• Don't Go No Further - Koko Taylor - Old School - 3:39 - 100

And the finals:

• My Daddy Rocks Me - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman et son orchestre: 1945 Vol.2 - 2:48 - 100
• It Takes Two To Tango - Lester Young - Lester Young : 1951-1952 - 3:14 - 100
• Blooz ... First Thaingh 'Dis Moanin' - Wycliffe Gordon - Originals Only - 5:23 - 85

Followed by one last tune for general dancing (I wanted to use this one in the slow contest, but decided against it because mid-way through the song, the tempo doubles):

• Minnie the Moocher - Duke Ellington - Recollections Of The Big Band Era - 2:46 - 100

More from Hawkeye...

Saturday night at the Hawkeye Swing Festival brought the Hot Swing Combo, featuring many of the same players as the Twin Cities Hot Club as well as Patrick Harison on accordian and vocals. Plus my friend Jason Zabinski taking care of the band breaks. How's that for a line-up!

The only thing I had to take care of for the evening (besides all the ladies) was music for the finals of the Jack & Jill contest. Here's what I used:

1. Everything Is Jumpin' - Artie Shaw - The Very Best Of Artie Shaw - 5:09 - 165
2. Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea - Django Reinhardt - The Swing Sessions Volume 1 - 2:58 - 185
3. Harlem Air Shaft - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra - Live In Swing City: Swingin' With Duke - 3:05 - 211

The first song was an all-skate for warm-up. Second song was for spotlights. There were six couples in the finals, and each went in for two spotlights (so a total of 6 choruses of music). The song wasn't quite long enough to cover everything, so I restarted it for the last couple of spotlights. (I decided that it would be better and fairer to keep the same tune going rather than give the last couples something totally new, that nobody else had the chance to dance to or to hear.) Then the third song was another all-skate. I picked this one to be more of a challenge--as far as I know that's what's typically done for Jack & Jills. The last song is meant to differentiate the couples, to see who can keep up, and give the judges the chance to make up their minds if they can't decide on their rankings. After the contest, a friend of mine (a very experienced dancer who's been around for a long time, and is like a parent for his city's scene) commented that he thought the third song was too demanding, given the dancers in the finals. Don't know if I agree with him or not. Once the footage is up on Youtube, I might change my opinion. If you were there, what'd you think?

As an aside, I've got to say that it's really nice to get feedback on my music choices, especially from someone who's opinion I respect so much. It's all to rare that I get any comments other than compliments (which are nice, but not all that informative), and occasional vague complaints or snarky remarks. Constructive criticism is really helpful.

Live blogging from Hawkeye Swing Fest!

I'm here with a bunch of my buddies in Iowa City, Iowa (Ziowa!) at the Hawkeye Swing Festival, deejaying and teaching. Last night's dance featured Mutiny in the Parlor, a local combo featuring piano, saxophone, guitar, and tuba, who played a lot of old Dixie tunes like Shine On, Harvest Moon. I talked with the band leader afterwards, turns out he's friends with the guys from Aunt Ruby's Sweet Jazz Babies, from Austin Texas (a band that I learned about from my set on Yehoodi Radio). Then late night featured the Twin Cities Hot Club. Oh my lord, are those guys amazing. Among the highlights of the late night was their sultry rendition of Summertime, featuring Gary Schulte on violin. If the crowd had actually been sitting down, we would have given them a standing ovation. As it was, we just clapped and hollered for about five minutes. Just mesmerizing.

So here's the play-by-play of my tracks. As Mutiny in the Parlor took their first break, I popped on a couple of songs:

1. Louisiana - Barney Kessel - To Swing Or Not To Swing - 3:56 - 140
2. I Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:09 - 160
3. Jungle Nights in Harlem - Randy Sandke And The Nagel Heyer Allstars - Uptown Lowdown - 3:37 - 180
4. Yes Indeed - Sy Oliver - Yes Indeed - 3:13 - 128
5. It's You Who Taught It To Me - Fats Waller - The Unique Mr. Waller - 2:42 - 160
6. Betcha Nickel - Ella Fitzgerald - My Heart Belongs to Daddy - 2:51 - 160
7. Okay for Baby - Jimmie Lunceford - For Dancers Only - 3:13 - 145

Then we had the prelims of the Jack and Jill. Each heat of contestants got a medium song, a slow song, and a faster song. I tried to balance the songs so that both heats got similar music at each speed. First heat:

1. For Dancers Only - John Lewis, The American Jazz Orchestra - The Music Of Jimmie Lunceford - 4:34 - 145
2. Keepin' Out A Mishif Now - Carling Family - 20th Jubilee - 3:32 - 120
3. Some Of These Days - Bob Wilber And The Tuxedo Big Band - More Never Recorded Arrangements For Benny Goodman - Vol. 2 - 2:58 - 190

Second heat:

1. Blues In Hoss' Flat - George Gee - Swingin - 5:15 - 148
2. Why Don't You Do Right (Peggy Lee, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:17 - 125
3. The Right Idea - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:13 - 185

After the prelims, there was time for one more song:

1. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It - Papa Bues Viking Jazz Band - Live In Copenhagen - 3:36 - 135

Then Mutiny in the Parlor started up again. On their next break, I played these two tracks:

1. Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42 - 125
2. All Of Me - Helen O'Connell - Great Girl Singers, Sing 22 Original Hits - 2:09 - 145

Then we had the slow lindy/blues competition. This competition ran as a tap-in. It started out with about a dozen couples, dancing two songs in an all skate. During the second song, the judges selected their top 6 (I think it was 6?) couples, who went on to do a phrase battle to the third song:

1. Money Blues - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith - 2:53 - 103
2. Southern sunset - Swing Parade South - Hommage a Sidney Bechet - 3:32 - 105
3. I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues - Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington - Compact Jazz - 4:42 - 85

After the comp, a couple more for social dancing before the Twin Cities Hot Club fired up.

1. Squeeze Me - Della Reese - Song Book, Vol. 3 - 2:37 - 90
2. Ain't Doin' Too Bad - Bobby "Blue" Bland - The Bobby "Blue" Bland Anthology (Disc 1) - 2:42 - 110

On the Hot Club's first set break, we launched right into the solo jazz/charleston contest. There was one all-skate for warm up, then three songs worth of phrase battling.

1. Stomp, Stomp - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:55 - 195
2. When You're Smiling - The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn - Forty Days and Forty Nights - 3:51 - 215
3. Shake That Thing - Vince Giordano's Nighthawks - The Aviator Music From The Motion Picture - 3:00 - 225
4. Sugar Foot Stomp - Fletcher Henderson - Yeah Man! - 3:11 - 255

Then a few songs for social dancing, before the Hot Club finished out the night.

1. Frankie and Johnnie - The Ink Spots - Voice Masters Vol. 2 - 2:56 - 130
2. Ja-Da - The Famous Castle Jazz Band - The Five Pennies - 3:07 - 150
3. Easy Does It - Paul Tillotson the Love Trio - Lindy Hop Blues - 2:57 - 130