First Friday at Big City Swing 2/5/2010

It was a PACKED house at Big City last night--two beginner lessons going (both featuring everyone's favorite: the mini-dip), a couple out-of-towners in for the blues workshops the next day, and an enthusiastic crowd throughout the evening made for a fun night. I was back and forth between the first and second floors for the first part of the evening, and I thought both DJs (Bob downstairs and Nathan upstairs) did an exemplary job, hitting the perfect vibe for the night. I took over downstairs around 10:30. See my set notes below (along with BPM sparkline and frequency distribution). I started out trying to stick to mini-sets all in a particular style of music, but didn't exactly keep that up all night.

1. Ballin' The Jack - Earl Hines - Live Broadcasts From The Hangover Club - 4:00 - 145 (This one and the following two are what I would call Chicago-style small groups.)
2. The Dark Town Strutter's Ball - Sid Phillips - Ridin' High - 3:04 - 195 (Bigs liked this one.)
3. Life Begins When You're In Love - Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Master Takes And Singles - 3:02 - 180
4. Afternoon Of A Moax - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:24 - 130 (moving into big band here and the next two)
5. Good Evenin' Good Lookin' (Helen Forrest, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:10 - 150
6. Troubled - Glenn Miller with Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra - The Glenn Miller Story Vol. 1-2 - 2:45 - 185 (This song has an intense, dark mood to it, so for the next one I thought I'd better loosen things up.)
7. Jump Session - Slim Gaillard - 1938-1939 - 2:35 - 160
8. Public Jitterbug No.1 - Cats & The Fiddle - We Cats Will Swing For You - 2:54 - 205
9. Gettin' In The Groove - Panama Francis & his Savoy Sultans - Gettin' in the groove - 3:06 - 130 (Next couple are more modern-sounding.)
10. Don't You Miss Your Baby - Jimmy Witherspoon - Jimmy Witherspoon & Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans - 3:55 - 140
11. Bei Mir Bist Du Schane - Janis Siegel - Swing Kids - 4:11 - 150 (Bei Mir ends with a big burst of energy, and the floor seemed to be feeling it, so I bumped the tempo and energy WAY up.)
12. Harlem Jump - Jack Teagarden - Casey Jones - 2:35 - 230 (It cleared the floor a little bit, but lots of folks seemed to take it in stride.)
13. Jumpin' Punkins - Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Band - 3:42 - 130 (Next couple are relaxed, classic-sounding recordings.)
14. Small Fry - Adrian Rollini - Tap Room Swing - 2:49 - 120
15. There'll Be Some Changes Made - Una Mae Carlisle - Una Mae Carlisle: 1938-1941 - 2:45 - 110
16. Le Jazz Hot - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 2:44 - 140
17. Ja-Da - The Famous Castle Jazz Band - The Five Pennies - 3:07 - 150 (Moving into Dixie/New Orleans stuff here, as I often do...)
18. Short Dressed Gal - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 - 2:38 - 160 (..but I move onto something else with the next one.)
19. Yacht Club Swing - Fats Waller - Yacht Club Swing 1938 - 3:51 - 162
20. Six Appeal - Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five - Crazy Rhythm - 3:29 - 135
21. Blooz ... First Thaingh 'Dis Moanin' - Wycliffe Gordon - Originals Only - 5:23 - 85 (There's a blues weekend with out-of-town instructors this weekend, so I thought I'd throw this one in. People didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as I expect they would be, so I move on a bit.)
22. Tears Of Joy - Janiva Magness Band - My Bad Luck Soul - 3:08 - 110
23. Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Sidney Bechet - Sidney Bechet: 1949 - 3:20 - 175 (This one elicited a couple of audible "Yay!"'s and "Yes!"'s)
24. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200
25. St. Louis Blues - Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way - 3:49 - 130 (Chilling out for the end of the night.)
26. They Can't Take That Away From Me - Sarah Vaughan - Ken Burns Jazz - 2:43 - 125
27. Sermonette - Earl Grant - Singin' & Swingin': The Best Of Earl Grant - 2:42 - 125
28. Sugar In My Bowl - Miss Tess - When Tomorrow Comes - 3:15 - 105
29. That Chick's Too Young To Fry - The Prisonaires - Just Walkin' In The Rain - 1:45 - 190