Swing, IN 2010

This past weekend Jenna and I were at Swing, IN in Indianapolis to teach and to play music and to dance and dance and dance and dance. Many of my favorite people were all in the same place at the same time, which was an all- too-rare treat for me. (Plus I get some them again next weekend!)

The Saturday night dance featured the Boilermaker Jazz Band in very fine form--I'm not a huge fan of most sax solos, but Paul Cosentino effectively persuaded me otherwise that night. I played during the band breaks--both short, as you can tell from the lists below. Here's the music from just after the first set:

• Moten Swing - Barney Kessel - To Swing Or Not To Swing - 3:57 - 160
• I Love Jazz - Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong - 4:40 - 170
• My Blue Heaven - The Cangelosi Cards - Clinton Street Recordings, I - 4:11 - 145
• Daphne - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:03 - 210
• The Back Room Romp - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 2:49 - 150

And here's the tracks from after the second set (between the team comps and the strictly):

• Peckin' - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 3:30 - 180
• Blue Drag - Earl Hines - Swingin' Down - 2:59 - 140
• He Ain't Got Rhythm (Jimmy Rushing, Vocals) - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman - 2:49 - 155
• The Right Idea - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:13 - 185
• Mood Hollywood - Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra - Radio Rhythm - 3:31 - 170

Sunday night brought us a dj'ed dance, featuring tunes picked by Jason Zabinski, Brian Tietz, and me. Jason's taste is impeccable (up to and including his choices for men's and women's deodorant), so of course I enjoyed his set. I'd never met Brian before but I was quite impressed by all of his sets. He opened the Friday late night and hit just the right note, keeping the music solidly swinging and energetic until the jack and jill finals. He read the room well on Sunday evening too. At one point he played an uptempo swing version of the Super Mario Brothers theme, and initially I was thinking, "really did he just go there?" but once I saw the reaction from the crowd (and the jam that broke out) I concede that it was a perfect call.

I played the last set of the evening dance on Sunday, and didn't think too hard about my picks. Mostly I was sorting my music by rating and picking all the tracks that I'd rated as 4 or 5 stars. Here's my set, along with BPM sparkline and frequency distribution:

1. Fiddle Dee Dee - Lionel Hampton - Lionel Hampton Story 1: Hot Mallets - 2:39 - 195 (I like using songs with unusual introductions as the first track of a set, especially if I'm picking up after announcements or something. It gives people a chance to find a dance partner, and hopefully catches their ear. This one has a mysterious introduction that lasts for about 45 seconds, and then it starts to swing like hell.)
2. Good Queen Bess - Johnny Hodges - Perfect Swing - 3:02 - 155
3. Ochi Chornya - Wingy Manone - Wingy Manone: 1940-1944 - 2:54 - 165 (also known as Dark Eyes.)
4. Spreadin' Rhythm Around - Billie Holiday - Swing Brother Swing - 2:52 - 195 (For Bigs.)
5. On The Sunny Side of The Street - Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy Gillespie et son orchestre : 1951-1952 - 3:07 - 135 (For Tigert.)
6. Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong - Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography Disc 1 - 3:19 - 115
7. Solid As A Rock - Count Basie - Count Basie Et Son Orchestre 1950-1951 - 3:03 - 135
8. My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 148 (For Jason.)
9. The Five Pennies - The Famous Castle Jazz Band - The Five Pennies - 2:52 - 205
10. Shine On Harvest Moon - Pete Fountain - Dixieland's Kings - 2:50 - 160
11. Gettin' In The Groove - Panama Francis & his Savoy Sultans - Gettin' in the groove (Paris 1971) - 3:06 - 130
12. Little Jazz - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 3:06 - 140 (Because Jump Through the Window had already been played about 8 times.)
13. Cole Slaw - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:44 - 135
14. Just A Gigolo, I Ain't Got Nobody - Louis Prima - Louis Prima - Retro High School Party - 4:43 - 125 (I had one person come up and thank me for playing this one because it's her favorite. I also had one person come up and tell me that they think this song is annoying as hell, but they had an amazing dance to it just now. So there.)
15. The Darktown Strutters' Ball - Alberta Hunter - Amtrak Blues - 5:23 - 150 (I heard someone exclaim "Yes!" when this one came on.)
16. Sweet Georgia Brown - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman: Very Best of Benny Goodman - 3:07 - 175
17. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200 (Never gets old.)
18. Ridin' And Jivin' - Earl Hines - Rosetta - 2:39 - 155
19. Perdido Street Blues - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 - 3:08 - 145 (Forgot that this song was played already this weekend.)
20. Somebody Loves Me - Stuff Smith - Cat On A Hot Fiddle - 3:42 - 150
21. My Daddy Rocks Me - Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman et son orchestre: 1945 Vol.2 - 2:48 - 100
22. Put A Lid On It - Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot - 2:39 - 198
23. Beans And Corn Bread - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 2:50 - 215 (This song was stuck in my wife's head all weekend.)
24. Heart Of Steel - Galactic - Ya-Ka-May - 3:27 -
25. I've Been Loving You Too Long - Otis Redding - Good To Me: Recorded Live At The Whiskey A Go Go Volume 2 - 5:51 -