This week we feature our very own Alain Wong from Montreal, QC, Canada. He has DJ’ed at such events as the Canadian Swing Championships, the Albany Chill (Lindy Hop exchange), the MTLX (Montreal Lindy Hop exchange), the Mike & Casey weekend in Toronto, the Steven & Virginie weekend in Rochester and most recently at the Quebec Swing Rendez-Vous. You can find him DJ’ing regularly in Montreal.

Song: Stomp, Stomp
Artist: The Cats and the Fiddle
Album: We Cats Will Swing For You

For my song of the week, I’m choosing an obvious song that has been stuck in my head and that of many other dancers this past year.

Since our team The Northern Lights performed a team routine to it, dancers occasionally run into me with a simple “Stomp Stomp” and then walk away. You can watch an inspiring performance by The Mop Squad to the same song. For those who are wondering, we had chosen our song without having seen this performance. To Manu Smith’s credit, he did a great job interpreting the music, and if we had seen this routine, we might not have chosen the same song. In any case, it’s nice to see how a song can be interpreted as a solo jazz routine and as a group choreography.

About the band

Who hasn’t heard “Gangbusters” or “Killing Jive” at a dance? The Cats and the Fiddle are easily recognizable because of their infectious rhythm and vocal harmonies. Originally composed of Austin Powell (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Henderson (tenor, tipple), Chuck Barksdale (bass vocals, upright bass), and Ernie Price (tenor, guitar, tipple), the group underwent many formation changes over the years.

The song Stomp Stomp is credited to tenor vocalist and guitarist Tiny Grimes, who had in 1940 replaced Herbie Miles, who himself had been a replacement for original quartet member Jimmy Henderson (who died of meningitis). It’s a swinging tune that reflected the popularity of vocal harmonies made popular by the Mills Brothers in the early 30’s.

If you don’t own any The Cats and The Fiddle songs, I highly recommend buying this album on Amazon. It has most of the songs you’ll hear played by swing DJs, and is a great introduction to their sound. Also check out Dax and Alice’s classic routine to the title track “We Cats Will Swing For You”.

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Filed Under: Song of the Week | Monday, February 9th, 2009

Late breaking news about Frankie Manning’s 95th birthday.

Registration was temporarily closed for the last few weeks, but they’ve found a new venue for the Friday through Monday dances (the Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom). So if you haven’t registered, go do that now. It’s going to be a historic event, with Lindy Hoppers from 31 countries already registered.

Check out the list of countries being represented: (more…)

Filed Under: Upcoming Events | Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Dear Casey is a satirical twist on the advice columns found in news media. During the past months, we introduced her column through archived articles from WhiteHeat. It’s now time to send in your questions - please do so at casey@lindybloggers.com

Dear Casey,

Lindy hop is a wonderful social dance which makes many different people come together for a few hours of fun and enjoyment. However all good things have a dark side; and there is one particular subject on which i would like your advice. During classes or social dances there are always a few people who seem to be oblivious to basic hygiene and prefer to harbor their natural scent to the pleasure or displeasure of others. Do you have any subtle ways to deal with this kind of situations?
Thank you,
Sensitive-Nose (more…)

Filed Under: Dance Advice, Dear Casey, Travel Advice | Friday, February 6th, 2009

This revered Canadian pianist, who left us only recently, had an amazingly prolific jazz career. His virtuosic solos have mesmerized generations of jazz fans and musicians alike. But I want to focus on a facet of Oscar Peterson that is almost always understated: his skill as an accompanist. In my opinion, he is the ultimate in what a singer could ever ask for: he’s always tasteful, always creative, never overpowering, and swings with such impeccable skill you’d swear he invented the sixteenth note. Through all of this he showcases the singer in what I can only describe as great generosity. He’s more concerned with complementing them than upstaging them, and it shows. Here are a few of my favorite recordings where Oscar and his boys back up singers:

Taking a Chance on Love (Vernon Duke, John Latouche & Ted Fetter) Anita Sings the Most with the Oscar Peterson Quartet: Anita O’Day (vcl), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Jo Jones (d); Los Angeles, January 31, 1957

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The intro is one of my most favorite ever. Simple and cute at first, then gives you something to chew on right before that gorgeous bass kicks in. Just listening to every perfect response OP has for each of Anita’s lines in the A sections gives me chills. This is one of those songs that I just can’t help but get mushy over.

You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell) Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio: Bill Henderson (vcl), Oscar Peterson (p), Ray Brown (b), Ed Thigpen (d); February 1963

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(more…)

Filed Under: Recorded Music Reviews | Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Two weekends ago I attended the fourth and final edition of the Quebec Swing Rendez-Vous. The demanding careers of the organizers precipitated the end of this popular northeastern event promoting Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, Shag and other authentic jazz dances. I’m saddened because it was my one excuse every year to travel to Quebec City, the provincial capital.

This is a two part series covering this year’s event highlight, an hour-and-a-half long musical comedy directed by Geneviève Kérouac, and the QSRV itself over the years.

Swing Station

Directed by Genevieve Kerouac, Swing Station is described as a clownesque-musical-comedy. Here’s the introduction:

“Swing station, 1925 – Dans une gare vit un musicien. Dans son placard, lui faisant office de chambre, il se lève tous les matins. La station “ SWING ” lui servant de scène, il y joue tous les jours son refrain pour son public de voyageurs. Pourtant chaque soir, il rêve à sa belle, partie dans la grande ville y gagner son pain.”

Non-literal translation: In a station lives a musician. He wakes up daily in a closet doubling as his sleeping room. Using the station as a backdrop for his music, every day he plays his choruses for travelers and passerbys. And each night, he dreams of his love, lost to the riches of the big city.

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Filed Under: Dancer Interviews, Event Reviews | Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Last week’s answer

Shorty Snowden and his partner Big Bea had a signature step where he would go back-to-back with her, lift her up and carry her off the floor. Sometimes she would carry him off. Frankie Manning and Frieda Washington were inspired by this move when they created the “Over the Back”. He described it as “she’s back to back with me and I flip her over my back and she lands on her feet in front of me. So we call it over-the-back because that’s the trajectory she takes. She comes over my back and lands in the front” (City Arts, “The Uncut Interview with Frankie Manning”). They perfomed this airstep for the first time in public during a competition at the Savoy.

Congratulations to Thane Walkup and Mike Roberts for finding last week’s answer. And for those of you who haven’t read Frankie’s autobiography, I highly recommend purchasing it: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. There are many hidden historical gems, including the chapter where he describes how they came up with the first airstep, and what happened that night when they pulled it off at the Savoy.

This Week’s Tuesday Trivia Question: Top dance band of 1940 on Billboard magazine

The Billboard Advertising magazine, most well known today for its music charts, originally covered bill posting. In subsequent years, it added outdoor entertainment, and then motion pictures and radio, before dedicating itself to the music industry.

Who topped the Billboard magazine top ten dance bands for 1940? As a bonus, name the top 3.

Know the answer? Let everyone know and comment.

Filed Under: Dance Trivia | Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

This week we feature Freddie Dickinson from Seattle, WA.  He comes highly recommended by last week’s Song of the Week DJ Mike Faltesek and his song choice is solid proof of his excellence.

Duke Ellington Men Small Groups

Song: Jazz a la Carte
Album: Dukes’s Men: Small Groups Vol. 1
Artist: Duke Ellington

BARNEY BIGARD AND HIS JAZZOPATORS: Rex Stewart (cor), Juan Tizol (vtb), Barney Bigard (cl), Harry Carney (bari), Duke Ellington (p), Fred Guy (g), Billy Taylor (b), Sonny Greer (d).
NYC, April 29, 1937 (2:15pm start)

Ellington’s small group sessions are widely known as killer recordings of Duke with his various side men.  Of course one should own all of these recordings, but Jazz a la Carte is certainly one to cherry pick out of the bunch.

I love these 1930’s small group recordings because they take simple song formats of traditional jazz standards and add just enough personality and subtlety to make them seem like a higher evolution of swingin’ “trad jazz”.  This song has a 12 bar chorus that get’s played through twice at the beginning and twice at the end, with solos in the middle.  This makes for a very basic arrangement on paper, but the musicians take you on a journey that’ll make you anything but blue.

Rex Stewart opens with an intro and then launches into the main theme of the song.  The melody is more of a rhythmic chant and not so much a sing-song kind of melody, which appeals to my dancing ears.  Each of the three solos that make up the creamy center of this recording has a different sound and feel to it.  The background riffs played by the other guys in the band lend a unique attitude to each section.  Barney Bigard’s solo (cl.) has a meandering curiosity to it, with the backup riff popping in every 8 beats (lindy hop serendipity).  Harry Carney’s baritone sax solo has an arguing tone to it, and the background riff adds to that feeling by adding dynamic waves to sustained 8 beat chordal tones.  Duke’s solo conjures up the famous image of him with a black top hat, upright and cocked to the side.  The song ends with the full group playing the main theme in harmony, first reserved, then with full flying colors.

I love these recordings a lot, but I’ve yet to hear a contemporary band play many of these arrangements, Jazz a la Carte included.  Until that happens, you can pick up your own copy of Ellington’s small group sessions from various compilations.

You can find it on Amazon as Duke’s Men: The Small Groups Vol. 1 but the gold standard for these recordings can be purchased here Mosaic Records: Duke Ellington: 1936-40 Small Group Sessions.

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Filed Under: Song of the Week | Monday, February 2nd, 2009