Swing, jazz and blues - Dance to the music

Doris Day - Dig It (I Ain't Hep To That Step)

2009-07-17T23:42:00.005+02:00

I saw a documentary about Doris Day and thought I'd post a song from her singing career, here a tune she sang with Les Brown and His Orchestra: (I Ain't Hep to That Step But I'll) Dig It.

What do you think of Doris Day singing Dit It? Please comment.

Nina Simone - Feeling good

2009-07-15T15:17:00.003+02:00

"Feeling Good" sung by Nina Simone is a typical summer song for me. Don't ask me why, it just is.

Do you have any song that you associate with summer or another season?

What do you think of Nina Simone singing Feeling good? Please comment.

Hey Mr Jesse - July 2009

2009-07-14T18:02:00.003+02:00

The July show of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse has just been released.

Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where the swing djs Jesse Miner and Manu 'Spuds' Smith talk about swingin' music that matters to dancers.

Download the July 2009 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

I'm sorry that I haven't commented on the last couple of months when Hey Mr Jesse have been released, so if you use my blog to stay updated when the podcasts arrive you might have missed a few. In that case, just look at the Hey Mr Jesse archive and catch up.

This month I had a few tips on songs from some new album releases, first out was Ik Hou Van Je (I Love You) by Candye Kane from the album Superhero (available on AmazonMp3, iTunes Plus and eMusic),

Second tip was the song "Let's Misbehave" by Top Shelf Jazz from the album Fast & Louche.

My bonus tip for July was "Christopher Columbus" by Humphrey Lyttelton from the album Bad Penny Blues 1955-1956 (available on AmazonMp3, iTunes Plus and eMusic)

What do you think of Hey Mr Jesse podcast July 2009? Please comment.

The Real Group - It Don't Mean A Thing

2009-07-09T12:44:00.008+02:00

It Don't Mean A Thing is almost the definition of a classic swing song. Here is a acapella version by the Swedish vocal group The Real Group from a concert at Stockholm Concert Hall in 2005.

I really like how the bass lines are sung and I'm also very fond of the way they layer their voices (starts at ~ 2:00 into the video clip).

What do you think of The Real Group singing It Don't Mean A Thing? Please comment.

Louis Jordan - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby

2009-07-07T13:48:00.005+02:00

According to Wikipedia, the musician Louis Jordan was born on July 8th in 1908. One of his most known songs that he performed was Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby.

Above you see him play and sing it in the movie Follow the Boys from 1944.

"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" have been sung by many artists. Do you have a favorite version?

What do you think of the video clip with Louis Jordan? Please comment.

Easy virtue - Let's misbehave

2009-07-05T20:01:00.008+02:00

While looking for versions of Cole Porter's song "Let's Misbehave" I stumbled across the film Easy Virtue that was released last year. "Let's misbehave" is the tagline of the movie and the song is also included in the film.

Easy Virtue is set in England in the early 1930's, where a young man marries an American which is not approved by his mother. The main characters are played by Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth.

There is also a soundtrack from Easy Virtue available.

I think the film look charming and would like to see it. Has anyone got it?

Read more about:

Have you seen Easy Virtue? What do you think of it? Please comment.

Outdoors summer dancing in Uppsala

2009-07-03T10:04:00.009+02:00

Tuesdays are dancing days in Uppsala during the summer. If you go down to the park by the river, you'll find lindy hoppers and balboa dancers all over the place from 18 o'clock and until we run out of batteries for the boombox or run out of dancers, whichever happens first.

Many people bring food and drinks and have a picnic while they rest for a while. Many other (not yet dancing) people pass by on the walking paths beside and stay for a while and look. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce your friends to the dance.

Nobody has yet fallen into the river by accident but last Tuesday one guy jumped into river all by himself.

The event has expanded to Mondays when tap dancer try their rhythms on the quayside.

The event seems to be getting some attention since earlier this week the local radio station phoned me and wanted to get in contact with some dancers.

There are also other outside dances in Uppsala, if you dance tango, go to Smultron at Svartbäcksgatan on Tuesdays between 19 and 23 and if dance Swedish Bugg, go to the river between Skolgatan and Eddaspången on Thursdays after 18.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license them.

What do you think of the outside dancing by the river in Uppsala? Have you been there yet? Please comment.

Midnight Serenaders - Portland

2009-05-03T09:59:00.005+02:00

Midnight Serenaders is a band from Portland, Oregon that play 1920's and 1930's music.

There is a good segment from the show "Oregon Art Beat" from Oregon Public Broadcasting where they feature Midnight Serenaders playing and talking about their band.

[Found via Evrim Icoz]

What do you think of Midnight Serenaders? Please comment.

Frankie Manning has passed away

2009-04-27T15:21:00.007+02:00

The legendary Lindy hop dancer Frankie Manning passed away today, Monday morning, in New York, 94 years old.

I first encountered Frankie at my first visit to Herräng Dance Camp. What struck me was his good spirit and his infectious laugh. To me he embodied everything that lindy hop is all about: joy and happiness.

Frankie Manning contributed so much to this world. We will miss you!

Tell me your stories about Frankie Manning! Please comment.

Happy birthday in advance, Frankie Manning!

2009-04-23T09:40:00.006+02:00

Frankie Manning, the lindy hop legend, turns 95 in May, and he is going to have a gigantic birthday party in New York.

Peter Strom & Ramona Staffeld have created a choreography to honor Frankie at his birthday. People all over the world have participated in performing it and of course we have also done it in Uppsala. The video above is from Tuesday at Cats Corner at Smålands nation.

The song is Savoy by Lucky Millinder.

I think it looks really nice. What do you think? Please comment.

Happy Birthday Duke! - Concert and show April 29th

2009-04-22T13:16:00.007+02:00

Happy Birthday Duke! is a concert and show that you really should see. It's a concert that celebrates Duke Ellingtons 110th birthday. The concert features no less than three bands and orchestras: Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra, SweDukes and the Middlesex group.

But wait there's more. Way more. You will also see the swing dance troupe MessAround perform together with the bands. The will show off all kinds of swing dances: Lindy hop, balboa, shag, charleston and tap.

The concert takes place next Wednesday, April 29th, at Univeritetsaulan, at 19.30.
Tickets cost 130 kr (90 kr for students). If you got a UNT-card: 100 kr (70 kr for students). Buy tickets via UNT Biljett (018-478 10 70) or at Ticnet.

Invite all your friends to Happy Birthday Duke! on Facebook.

If you were at Cats Corner yesterday, you got a sneek peak of MessAround doing the charleston number Uppsala Stomp. The number was tight and had lots of energy.

Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra (UUJO) has got a new member: Claes Brodda on saxophone. The photo above is from Saturday when he played together with Jennie Löbel and the Swing Kings at Swingkattens dance at Grand. I look forward to hear more of him. (I'll post more about the Saturday night dance later).

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license them.

Will you attend "Happy Birthday Duke!"? Please comment.

1920s Charleston at the Gatsby Picnic 08 - Lynne and Peter

2009-04-16T13:38:00.002+02:00

I really like this video clip from the Gatsby Picnic 2008 where Lynne Koehlinger and Peter Varshavsky perform a 1920's partner charleston routine to Jimmie Noone's Apex Orchestra song "Every Evening (I Miss You)".

The charleston dancing looks very airy and light and there is all sorts of charleston in the routine; partner charleston, solo charleston and breakaways (that later on developed into lindy hop swingouts). I'd like to get better at charleston, it's been a while since we had charleston workshop in town.

What do you think of the video clip? Please comment.

Jumpin' at the Woodside: Antti Sarpila

2009-04-01T19:46:00.004+02:00

Jumpin' at the Woodside is a classic swing song by Count Basie. It has a fast tempo and has often been used as music for lindy hop jam circles.

Above is a version from Bern Jazz Festival 1988 where Antti Sarpila and Christian Plattners duels with their saxophones. I've had the pleasure of listening to Antti Sarpila a couple of times. If he is in your town, go and hear him play.

What do you think of Jumpin' at the Woodside with Antti Sarpila? Please comment.

Trinity at Uppsala Jazz Club: Photos

2009-03-30T13:19:00.007+02:00

The jazz group Trinity played yesterday at Pub Nitton in Uppsala at a concert arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

The band consists of Ali Djeridi (drums), Andreas Hellkvist (Hammond) and Amanda Sedgwick (saxophone) who this time replaced Karl Olandersson (trumpet).

They played groovy jazz from the 1960's. It becomes especially groovy when Andreas Hellkvist attackes the key of his Hammond organ.

My favorite song of the concert was The Preacher by Horace Silver. Very groovy indeed.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license them.

What do you think of Trinity? Please comment.

Shim sham by Michael Jagger

2009-03-25T13:26:00.005+01:00

Shim sham is a jazz routine that originally was a tap routine. It's know by swing dancers all over the world.

In order to celebrate Frankie Manning's upcoming 95th birthday, Michael Jagger performs the shim sham in a most amusing way by using buns and fork to show the routine.

The song in the video clip is "T'ain't what you do" by Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra.

Great stuff, does anyone know more about Michael Jagger and the film maker John Damn? Tell me.

(Found via Finn)

What do you think of the video clip with shim sham? Please comment.

Lars Erstrand has passed away

2009-03-11T23:12:00.005+01:00

One of Uppsala's and Swedens best jazz musicians, vibraphone player Lars Erstrand, passed away today at the age of 72.

I liked his concerts with Swedish Swing Society and Lars Erstrand Four and I will always remember his warmth, his joy and his humour that he gave to us in the audience. Rest in peace.

Do you have any memories of Lars Erstrand that you would like to share? Please comment.

The Preacher (Jazzbacillen) - Horace Silver

2009-03-11T00:19:00.003+01:00

The song "The Preacher" is written by Horace Silver. In the video clip above The Preacher is played by Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. The video clip also include the song Doodlin'. I don't listen to a lot a bop but this is my kind of bop (I've mentioned before that also like Silver's tune "Filthy McNasty").

In Sweden "The Preacher" is known as Jazzbacillen (The Jazz Bug). The song became a hit when it was sung by the artist Siw Malmqvist in 1959 with new Swedish lyrics written by Eva Nordström (which I think is a pseudonym).

Below is the Swedish lyrics.

Jazzbacillen

Mitt huvud surrar av toner, säg vad kan ha hänt
och kroppen dunkar av rytmer som jag aldrig känt.
Det svänger runt och det gungar så jag blir konfys.
Omkring mig allting blir upp och ner,
vad är allt detta för nys.

Jag gick till doktorn och skildrar vad som hänt så här:
Jag är en stillsam person som ej ens har varit kär.
Men jag är nu som en köttbit på en glödhet grill.
Jag visslar jämt, slår takten på allt
och jag kan inte va' still.

Jag sa jag kanske fått hispan eller kanske fnatt
men farbror doktorn tog prover och sen sa han att:
Det här är bara en envis ganska snäll bacill,
jag skriver ut ett litet recept,
så håller den sig nog still.

Jag gick till pillerkontoret, visade min lapp,
men apotekarn han log och gav min kind en klapp:
Tyvärr så säljer vi inte alls nånting sånt här.
Gå bort till nästa hus och försök
där finns en skivaffär.

Med möda läste jag det som doktorn skrivit ner
att jag fått jazzen i blodet och behövde mer.
Det var så enkelt men doktorn hade träffat rätt.
Då blev jag arg för de' han fått
för nåt som var så lätt.

Den medicin skivaffären gav mig var perfekt.
Jag fick min jazzhunger stillad och min swingtörst släckt.
I stället åkte jag på en ny och praktfull nit,
jag intogs av en ny bacill
blev kär i en expedit.

Mitt huvud surrar av toner, som mig himlen sänt
och kroppen dunkar av rytmer som jag aldrig känt.
Jag blir så frisk av baciller om de är så här,
den bästa sjukan är nog ändå
det där att plötsligt bli kär.

What do you think of The Preacher? Please comment.

Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer): Bob Wills

2009-03-09T22:30:00.006+01:00

Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer) by Bob Wills & Tommy Duncan is a great song especially when paired with old photos of people dancing.

I don't know much about Bob Wills, but apparently he was a big name playing western swing in the 1930's-1940's.

I like the lyrics which could describe any dance where you just don't want to leave until it's really really over.

"Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
I don't see why I don't stay a little longer"

Some of the other lyrics seem to be nonsense, but it could well be the case that I don't have the cultural context (USA in the 1930's-1940s) to get the references. If the lyrics do have a meaning, please leave a comment and explain.

What do you think of Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer) by Bob Wills & Tommy Duncan? Please comment.

Jassdancer - Blog by Peter Loggins

2009-03-09T13:05:00.004+01:00

The swing dance historian and dance instructor Peter Loggins has just launched a new blog called The Jassdancer. Peter has a collected a lot of knowledge and information about swing dances and the swing era, so it will be very interesting to follow what he writes.

One of his first posts discusses the question: What is a jitterbug?

What do you think of The Jassdancer? Please comment.

Hey Mr Jesse: March 2009

2009-03-08T21:57:00.006+01:00

The March show of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse has just been released.

Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where the swing djs Jesse Miner and Manu 'Spuds' Smith talk about swingin' music that matters to dancers.

Download the March 2009 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

Here is my tip to Jesse and Manu:

"What a surprise with the jingle you made. Thanks :)

Ok, down to business, music tip for March:

Last time you featured a live recording by Benny Goodman, I want to recommend 2 cd set called "Live Swing Sessions 1943 - 1949" with more live sessions with Goodman.

I especially like his version of "Love me or leave me".

I also like "Rattle and roll", The songs starts a little weak but then starts pumping."

They also talked a little about my post about the Folkets Hus Five. You can see the video with the Folkets Hus Five playing "All of me" they talk about above. It was during this song I took the picture of Todd Yannacone. The video is shot by Johannes Schmidt.

Take a look at what else is in the show: read the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse March 2009.

What do you think of Hey Mr Jesse podcast March 2009? Please comment.

Cats' Corner at Gotlands nation

2009-03-04T15:09:00.007+01:00

I hope I didn't scare you with the photo above. Sometimes when I'm out taking photos unexpected things like these pop up in front of my lens. Booo! ;)

Yesterday I visited our (almost) weekly dance Cats' Corner. This season we don't have just one but several locations for the dance. This time it was held at Gotlands nation. It was there very first time we had the dance there, so there was some things to figure out how they worked.

Another debut for the night: Agnes Hjelm debuted as a swing dj and I think she played very well. She played both old classics as well as some neo swing.

One especially nice thing about Gotlands nation as a swing venue is that there are some space where people really can sit down and talk while they are not dancing. Oftentimes it's just "dance, dance, dance!" and you never get a chance to chat with people.

One other thing you could do when you're not dancing is to read the old magazines that we have bought. All the magazines are from the 1940s-1950s and it's fun to read what they thought was important to write about then. It's also entertaining to read the advertisements.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license them.

What do you think of Cats Corner at Gotlands nation? Please comment.

Bo Kaspers Orkester: Hon är så söt

2009-03-03T00:40:00.009+01:00

Some late night music: "Hon är så söt" (She is so sweet) by Bo Kaspers Orkester.

This song reminds me of Jan Johansson's album, "Jazz på svenska", it has that certain melancholy that I find very Swedish.

What do you think of the song? Please comment.

The Temperance Seven - Everybody Loves My Baby

2009-02-24T17:51:00.004+01:00

Here is a video clip with the song Everybody Loves My Baby performed by The Temperance Seven, a seven-piece band from Britain playing popular music and jazz from the 1920s and 30s.

I really like the cinematography of the video clip.

Also check out another version of Everybody Loves My Baby by Red Nichols that I've posted before.

What do you think of The Temperance Seven? Please comment.

Blue Monday: Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra

2009-02-23T12:22:00.007+01:00

This afternoon a new concert series will start in Uppsala: Blue Monday at Universitetsaulan.

First out in this attempt by Uppsala University to make mondays more fun is Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra which will play big band classics. The concert starts at 16.45 and lasts an hour. The concert is free of charge. Go there and listen!

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license it.

What do you think of Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra? Please comment.

Ulf Johansson Werre at Grand: Photos

2009-02-23T10:59:00.009+01:00

The band for the Friday night dance at Uppsala Winter Camp was Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra. Ulf Johansson Werre had put together this band with some other professional jazz musicans: Tommy Johnsson (bass), Claes Askelöf (guitar) and Calle Rasmusson (drums).

The great thing about professional musicians such as them is that they often add more "texture" to the music, which the dancers can pick up and play with. If they overdo it, it becomes more "jazzy" than swinging, but as long as you have a good rhythm section you can't go wrong. I think the band had a really good swinging sound all through the night.

In the end of the first set Ulf Johansson Werre looked down at the dance floor where he saw Ida Widberg who also sings in The Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra where Ulf is the musical director.

He invited her onto the stage and she sang All Of Me (if I remember correctly).

Later on there was another guest appearance when Christoffer Alehed joined the band with his trombone for two songs.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license them.

What do you think of Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra? Please comment.