Good Evening Everybody: Photos

Last week I saw the show Good Evening Everybody at Parksnäckan. The show is about the music and life of Louis Armstrong.




Good Evening Everybody is an entertaining and educating show. Beside hearing a lot of good jazz music you'll also find out a lot about Louis Armstrong and also about jazz history in general.

The band members take turns telling stories and band leader Peter Lind provides explanations of why Armstrong was called "Satch"; where the song "Muskrat ramble" got its name and how you really pronounce his name: is it "Louie" or "Louis"?



They talked about Louis Armstrongs tours to Sweden and how his music not always was understood by the music critics.

Nowadays most Swedes understand English, but in those days they wrote new lyrics to the song so that the general public could understand, often the lyrics became much more trivial.



But songs didn't just travel from America to Europe, some songs travelled in the opposite direction. Peter Lind and the Cabaret band gave examples of songs like that: Just a Gigolo (orginally a song from Austria) and Mack The Knife (from Germany). Take a look at Louis Armstrong sing Mack The Knife.

Peter Lind commented on the fact that there are too few movies on tv with Louis Armstrong in them: "When was the last time you saw Cabin In the Sky?".

If you have the opportunity I recomend you to see the show.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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

Have you seen the show Good Evening Everybody? What do you think of it? Tell me.

Nikki Yanofsky sings It Don't Mean a Thing

Here is Nikki Yanofsky singing It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) together with Canadian pianist Oliver Jones.



I featured Nikki Yanofsky some weeks ago where she sung Airmail Special, scatting just like Ella Fitzgerald. There seems to be a lot of interest in Nikki so I thought that I would present another video clip with her.

What I like about Nikki Yanofsky in this video clip is her phrasing, just listen to how she deliver the words, how she bends and stretches them or chops them up in perfect pieces. Excellent.

If you're interested in how Ella did it, take a look at Ella Fitzgerald singing "It Don't Mean a Thing".

What do you think of Nikki Yanofsky singing "It Don't Mean a Thing"? Tell me.

Hey Mr Jesse! July edition

Hey! I just realized that it's just a few days left of July and I haven't really written something about the Hey Mr Jesse podcast of July. I better do that now.

Well, I have mentioned the fabulous Nikki Yanofsky that scats like Ella Fitzgerald (which I found out about thanks to Jesse).

That show has so much great stuff so you need more than month to digest it all. They have all these great jazz artists and swing albums that they tip you about and I have trouble checking out everything so I sometimes I listen to old podcasts to discover what I missed.

The best thing this time was their listing of swing songs that got hand clapping in them. I've spun most of these songs when I've dj:ed and it's a great way to raise the energy in the room.

Songs with hand clapping really signals to the dancers: "All right, let's get this party started!".

After you play one of these songs you can follow it up with high tempo tunes for a while. My personal number one song from that list is Dizzy Gillespie's "School Days". Saves the day every time. I have to get the live version of Lou Rawls' "I Rather Drink Muddy Water". Great song.

I'm looking forward to the August edition when he will count down his top eight swing jam songs.

Download the Hey Mr Jesse July edition [47 MB, mp3]

Look at the show notes for Hey Mr Jesse July edition for all the details.

Have you listened to the July edition? What are your thoughts about the show? Tell me.

Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band: Photos

Last Wednesday The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band played at Katalin. The weather was really nice and warm and everybody was sitting at the outside restaurant so the band set up outside as well.

The band grabbed some members of the audience to play washtub bass along with them. I'm pretty sure that they need bass players when they play at Katalin tonight again sometime after 20 o'clock. If you'd like to play in a jazz band, this might be your chance.



Since they play in the pub or outside there is no entry fee so you can tip the band, buy their cds, buy a beer or some food there or all of the above. Outside you have plenty of room to dance, inside it probably will be a little bit crowded but you can try if you're careful.

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

What do you think of The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band? Tell me.

Blues dancing at Blues night at Herräng Dance Camp

Herräng Dance Camp, the worlds largest swing dance camp, has soon finished the fourth of five weeks this summer. Each week one night is "Blues night" where slow blues is played all night in the main ballroom. In the first years of this tradition only blues was played that night but in the last couple of years there has been tango or balboa on the other dance floors.

The Blues night is opened at midnight with a blues dance performance, take a look at these sexy women at the opening blues performance from 2004.



The kind of blues you hear in this video clip is very typical of the music you will hear all through the Blues night.

Have you been to a Blues night at Herräng dance camp? Do you like blues dancing? Tell me.

"Good Evening Everybody" at Parksnäckan

Tonight there will be a performance in Parksnäckan in Uppsala called Good evening everybody by Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band.

Good evening everybody was the opening phrase that Louis Armstrong always used and the show is about Louis Armstrong, his music and his life. The band will tell anecdotes about Louis Armstrong but will also talk about the how he has influenced them. Peter Lind is an amazing storyteller and he is backed up some of Uppsala's (and Sweden's) best jazz musicians: John Högman, Björn Sjödin, Kjell Grundström, Mats Josephson and Claes-Göran Skoglund.

I think this will be a really awesome show, it starts at 19.30 and costs 90 kr (70 kr with UNT-card).

Uppsala Nya Tidning has an article about the show.

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

Have you seen the show "Good evening everybody" before? What do you think of it? Tell me.

The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band at Katalin

The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band will play at Katalin at 20.00 tonight. The Lost and Wandering Blues & Jazz Band is a charming street jazz band that has been playing all over Europe and USA for the last 25 years.

The band is led by Dan Fitzgerald who sings with a rough voice and plays washtub bass. Also in the band is Gene Clarke on trumpet and piano. Different local musicians join them when they come to a new town. Here in Uppsala I'm pretty sure that David Shore (vocals and guitar) will join them as he has done before.

You might not know that the now world famous jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux sung and played with The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band in the early 1990's.

The band is really at it's best in small and intimate venues, so I encourage you to see them tonight. They will also play one more time at Katalin on Saturday. I don't know their plans but you might also spot them playing downtown this week (maybe at Forumtorget).

If you'd like a sample of Dan Fitzgerald's singing, take a look at this video clip from the early 1980's from a live performance on German television. The band performs three songs: Take It Right Back, God Bless the Child and Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (My Baby).



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

Have you heard The Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Danny Kaye sings "Ballin' the Jack"

Have you ever wanted to learn to dance Ballin' the Jack? Here is your chance.

Danny Kaye shows you how it's done when he sings "Ballin' the Jack" in this video clip from the movie "On the Riviera" from 1951. The woman looking at him is actress Gene Tierney.



Ballin' the Jack is an old dance that according to the book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000 (page 7-8) was invented in California around 1901-1905 and then was popularised through the theatre production Darktown Follies in 1911.

"Another popular dance from the Darktown Follies was Ballin' the Jack. Historian Willis Lawrence stated that the term "Ballin' the Jack" was a nineteenth century railroad expression that meant "travelling fast and having a good time"."

If you know of any other sources of information about the dance, let me know.

What do you think of Danny Kaye showing how to dance Ballin' the Jack? Tell me.

Ain't she sweet? Lilian Roth sings karaoke

You might think that karaoke singing is modern social phenomena but films with sing-along subtitles has been around much longer, just cast an eye at the charming Lilian Roth singing the song "Ain't she sweet?".



Oh my, ain't that perfection! I repeat, don't you think she's kind of neat?

Note how she gives you instructions to sing along with the bouncing ball much like the karaoke machines nowadays. This video clip is just a part of a longer short film or soundie that even includes an animated cartoon part but I can't find it online anymore (do you know where the whole film is? Tell me.)

Is there someone who has any information about sing-along singing back in the 1930's and 1940's? Did people go to the theatre to sing together? Did they gather around the Panoram machine? If you know something, please tell me.

"Ain't She Sweet" was composed by Milton Ager & Jack Yellen in 1927. They also composed songs as "Hard Hearted Hanna", "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Happy Feet".

What do you think of Lilian Roth singing "Ain't she sweet?"? Tell me.

Brazz Brothers: Photos: Uppsala Winter Swing

Brazz Brothers, a Norwegian brass band, played at the jazz festival Uppsala Winter Swing in January. Since it's Sunday I took the opportunity to dig through my jazz photo archive to find some pictures of them.

Brazz Brothers consists of two sets of brothers, first Helge Førde (trombone) and his twin Jarle Førde (trumpet/flugelhorn) and the third brother: Jan Magne Førde (trumpet/flugelhorn). The other pair of brothers are Runar Tafjord (french horn) and Stein Erik Tafjord (tuba). The last person in the band is Marcus Lewin (drums/percussion), he might also have brothers but they are not playing in the band.



Brazz brothers mixes traditional jazz and fusion jazz. At the concert they showed some of their African influences in the song "African Marketplace". They also pay attention to their Norwegian roots and have just released a cd called Vågåblot where they mix in traditional norwegian folk music.

All brass players in the band are also trained in classical music and they played a really great (grejt!) piece called "Domen" (The Cathedral) which made the whole room feel like you were in a cathedral. Speaking of cathedrals, Brazz brother will be back in Uppsala this fall to give a concert together with Orphei Drängar, one of the best men choirs in the world. If you have the opportunity, see them in the Uppsala cathedral September 29th.



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

Have you heard Brazz brothers? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Eartha Kitt: Too close for comfort

Some singers has that special voice that once you hear it you can mistake it for some else's. An artist that has that quality is Eartha Kitt.

Eartha Kitt's pronunciation of her 'R':s in a purring way is something that makes her unique. It also made her a perfect (purrfect?) choice for the roll as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman tv series.

(Sidetrack: Did you know that jazz composer and arranger Neal Hefti who did a lot of work together with Count Basie in the 1950's also composed the Batman theme?)

Today I want to show you the jazz singer side of Eartha Kitt: Have a look at this collection of photos set to music: Eartha Kitt singing "Too close for comfort".



What an excellent version of "Too close for comfort"! Do you know a good cd with this version? Tell me.

What did you think of the video clip with Eartha Kitt? Tell me.

Jazzreview.com: cd, book and concert reviews

I'm in the process of writing some posts that take a little more time so today I'm going to send you off to another jazz music website:

JazzReview.com

As the name suggests they feature all kind of jazz reviews: cds, books, concerts. They also have a section with jazz concert photography.

Check it out and report back to me if you find something that I should know about.

You could also take a look at my own cd reviews and book reviews.

Did you find something interesting? Tell me.

Ella Mae Morse - Ghost Catchers

Ella Mae Morse was a good jazz singer and she also acted a little bit, here she is in a movie called Ghost Catchers (1944) where they successfully use swing music and swing dancers to chase away the ghosts from a haunted house. Watch the video clip from Ghost Catchers.



The lindy hopping is choreographed and uses a lot of air steps (aerials) and has that special Hollywood styling to it.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist: "Who you gonna call? Swing dancers!")

Read more about Ella Mae Morse over at The Pop Culture Cantina.

What do you think of the video clip with Ella Mae Morse from Ghost Catchers? Tell me.

Red Nichols - Everybody Loves My Baby

Sometime I come across jazz musicians whose name I've heard but haven't really listened to. One of those was trumpeter Red Nichols, here is a video clip with Red Nichols & His Five Pennies playing "Everybody Loves My Baby".




The video clip with Red Nichols & His Five Pennies is the last part of a soundie from 1935. My favorite quote from the video (hilarious):

"Oh, Red, Please don't sing,
Pick up your horn, and play that thing!"

What I think is interesting in this clip is the mix between hot jazz and swing. One thing that is also noticeable is the slang words in the lyrics "she's my sheba, I'm her sheik". Those slang words became popular one decade earlier in 1921 when the silent movie "The Sheik" starring Rudolph Valentino was released. That film also inspired the jazz standard "Sheik of Araby".

What do you think of Red Nichols? What other recordings of Red Nichols should I listen to? Tell me.

Ella Fitzgerald sings In a Mellow Tone

Since I've written about Ella Fitzgerald in connection with Marilyn Monroe and Nikki Yanofsky lately it's only timely to show a video clip with her. Here is Ella Fitzgerald singing "In a Mellow Tone" with the Oscar Peterson Trio.



I love that light and airy piano playing by Oscar Peterson and you can't but dig those bass lines played by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHØP), which is one of my favorite jazz bass players.

The song, In a Mellow Tone, was written in 1940 by Duke Ellington.

What do you think of Ella Fitzgerald singing "In a Mellow Tone"? Tell me.

Marilyn Monroe & Ella Fitzgerald

A couple of weeks ago I saw a documentary about Marilyn Monroe and her life: "American Masters" Marilyn Monroe: Still Life. In the documentary the story is connected through the photos taken of her by her friend photographer Milton H. Greene.

One of the things I found out was that Marilyn Monroe had a big part in helping Ella Fitzgerald launch a career as a mainstream singer. Marilyn found out that Mocambo, a popular jet set night club in Hollywood, would not book Ella Fitzgerald as a performer because of segregation.

Marilyn phoned the manager and told him that she would book a front row table every night Ella performed there, knowing that her presence would get a lot of reporters there and a lot of publicity for the club.

Ella Fitzgerald was booked and Marilyn Monroe kept her promise.

Have you seen the documentary? What do you think? Tell me.

Cyd Charisse dances in Party Girl

Cyd Charisse is dancer who certainly knows how to match her movements to the music. Here is a sexy and sultry dance number in this video clip from the movie Party Girl.



Or maybe they matched the music to her movements? When it well done like this it's hard to tell. Cyd Charisse has such precision when she dances, it's a joy to watch.

The film Party Girl is from 1958.

What do you think of Cyd Charisse dancing in Party Girl? Tell me.

"Koop Islands Blues" - Koop

Today it's time for a break. Please enjoy this beautyful video for the song "Koop Islands Blues" by Koop.



The video is made by a Koop fan, if you like to see an official music video by Koop you should check out the video "Come to me" which also features dancing by the Harlem Hot Shots.

What do you think of the song and the video? Tell me.

VSOP: Concert at Parksnäckan: Photos

Yesterday VSOP played at an outdoor concert at Parksnäckan in Uppsala. VSOP is an acronym for "Vocal Organ Sax Project". The band leader Kjell Öhman (on Hammond B3) has arranged songs for this somewhat unusual mix of instruments. The band consists of Claes Jansson (vocals), Ulf Andersson, Johan Hörlén, Alberto Pinton, Håkan Broström, Hector Bingert, Karl-Martin Almqvist (everybody playing saxophones), Jan Ottesen (guitar), Hans Backenroth (bass) and Jocke Ekberg (drums).



This was the bands premiere performance that starts a small tour. Jazz singer Meta Roos joined the band for the premiere evening, that had not been announced so it was a nice surprise.



Kjell Öhman's arrangments were very good and the band was really swinging. A great full sound. The vocals by Claes Jansson and the guest singer Meta Roos was also excellent.

I liked Kjell Öhman's own song: Blues for Anne-Marie and the Benny Goodman song Soft Winds. Öhman had also done jazz arrangements of Can't buy me love (by Beatles) and I'm Walking (by Fats Domino). In the extra number, I finally found out the name of a great song: Black Nightgown (composed by Johnny Mandel).

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

Have you heard VSOP? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Peggy Lee sings "He's a Tramp" from Lady and the Tramp

A few days ago I wrote about the The Firehouse Five Plus Two playing Tiger Rag. The Firehouse Five consisted of members of the Walt Disney Studios animation department so I started to think about that there are a lot of animated Disney movies that has jazz songs.

One of the lesser known jazz songs is "He's a Tramp" from "Lady and the Tramp" which is sung by jazz singer Peggy Lee in the original film version. Peggy Lee was also a song and lyrics writer for the movie. Here is a behind-the-scenes video clip that shows how "He's a Tramp" was recorded. I can't but smile when I see the guys from The Mellomen sing the dogs' harmonies, what hilarious facial expressions, got to love that.



In her early jazz career Peggy Lee sang with the Benny Goodman Band with popular songs as "Why Don't You Do Right?". Maybe that's a good question to ask the Tramp?

What do you think of the video clip with Peggy Lee singing He's a Tramp? Tell me.

Diga diga doo by Firecracker Jazz Band

I'm always looking for new versions of great songs, now I've found terrific hot jazz version of Diga diga doo by the Firecracker Jazz Band from Asheville, North Carolina. One of the best versions I've heard. Listen to Diga diga doo.

If I lived in Asheville I would definitely go out and see them perform, why don't you take a look at their MySpace page to see where they are playing next? I would love to have their cd.

There's a lot of good things in Asheville right now. Like Sugar Foot Stomp, an "old-fashioned fast-dance and hot-jazz" dance weekend that coming up July 13th-15th. They will have workshops taught by Chad Fasca and Midori Asakura Fasca who will teach dances like charleston and peabody. And of course a lot of hot jazz music.

Check out this video clip with Chad and Midori from the 2004 American Lindy Hop Championships where they won the Fast Dance division dancing a combination of peabody and charleston.



What do you think of the Firecracker Jazz Band? Tell me.

Nikki Yanofsky sings Airmail Special and scats like Ella Fitzgerald

Wow! You must see Nikki Yanofsky sing Airmail Special in this video clip.



Nikki Yanofsky is an amazingly talented 13-year-old from Montreal, Canada who is one of the artists that sings on a tribute album called "We All Love Ella - Celebrating the First Lady of Song". The Ella that we love is of course Ella Fitzgerald and Nikki Yanofsky does a fantastic performance when she scats through Airmail Special in the style of Ella Fitzgerald.

Here is also a video clip where Nikki Yanofsky talks about being selected as one of the artists for the Ella Fitgerald tribute album. She has good company on the album: Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Michael Buble and Etta James among others.



I'd love to see what Nikki Yanofsky does next when she finds her own voice in the world of jazz. Go girl!

If you like these video clips, you'll like seeing Nikki sing It Don't Mean A Thing.

How did I find out about her? Through the "Hey Mr Jesse" July 2007 episode. More on that later.

What do you think of the video clip with Nikki Yanofsky singing Airmail Special? Tell me.

Good Morning Blues at Parksnäckan: Photos

About two weeks ago I visited a concert with Good Morning Blues at the outdoor stage called Parksnäckan. I was only able to get there in time the for their second set. I really liked the first song: Work song written by Nat Adderly. I also enjoyed the last song, their signature melody, Good Morning Blues. In this song the rhythm section really kept it in the pocket all the time and the the whole band had great energy. I would have liked more uptempo songs in the set instead of the more mellower songs. But maybe they played those in the first set that I missed?



Good Morning Blues consists of these musicians: Jan Wärngren (piano), Thomas Lindroth (bass, song), Björn Sjödin (drums), Claes Janson (song, guitar), John Högman (saxophone), Bosse Broberg (trumpet) and Anders Johansson (guitar).

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

Have you heard Good Morning Blues? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Review: Best of Van Morrison Volume 3

Katrina Alvarez over at Wiredset sent me the new album "The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3" for review. Thanks!

Van Morrison has had a long career and the songs from this double cd spans the years from 1993 until present. The album has an eclectic mix of music styles.

For me, the initial interest was to hear what Van Morrisons collaborations with blues artists like John Lee Hooker, BB King and Jimmy Witherspoon sounded like.

The album mostly contain what I would classify as soul songs (they somewhat remind me of Sam Cooke songs) mixed up with modern blues songs. A common musical theme through the album is the the use of Hammond B3 organ.

From a jazz (and dance) perspective there are only two songs on the album that are interesting: Moondance and Centerpiece. I've heard Moondance played at dances before and here is an uptempo version of the song. Centerpiece is the most jazzy song on the album and here Van Morrison is joined by singer Annie Ross. Annie Ross was a member of the vocal jazz group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Centerpiece was written by Jon Hendricks and it's my favorite song from the album.

This album is a little bit a departure from the cds I usually write about so be sure to listen to the songs at Amazon before you buy it. If you already are a Van Morrison fan, I think you will like this "best of collection".

Have you listened to "The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3"? What do you think of it? Tell me.

Firehouse Five Plus Two: Tiger Rag

Here is a video clip with the The Firehouse Five Plus Two playing Tiger Rag. Firehouse Five Plus Two was a Dixieland jazz band consisting of members of the Walt Disney Studios animation department [Wikipedia]. Dixieland jazz music always get me in a good mood and this is no exception.



I think this video clip might come from the film Grounds for Marriage from 1951 but I'm not sure. Tell me if you know something about the clip. BTW, I just love the woman's smile.

What do you think of the video clip with Firehouse Five Plus Two playing Tiger Rag? Tell me.

Steal dances or cutting in

Steal dances or cut-in dances are dances where your dance partner get stolen away from you in one way or another.

Here is a steal dance performed at the Thursday night cabaret at Herräng Dance Camp in 2003 by Tommy Blacharz, Andrew Sutton and Rabéa Lahlou. The song they dance to is (of course ironically chosen) "They can't take that away from me" performed by June Christy.



Andrew Sutton often teaches techniques for steal dancing and has written an article about steal dancing.

There is some information about "Cut-in dances" in Ralph G. Giordano's book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

In the section "Fashion, flappers and the great Gatsby" on page 59 Giordano writes about 1920s college campuses:

"The Charleston and the Varsity Drag were quite popular on college campuses. Also popular on campus was the "cut-in" dance. The idea was that more men than woman would be invited to a dance. The men were expected to "cut-in" during the course of a dance as many times as possible with a different female during an evening."

On page 96 he writes about American movies during the second world war:

"Many [movies] had a dance scene with a slow Foxtrot that also had an individual "Cutting In" on a couple. The scene was especially prevalent during World War II when there simply were not enough women partners at military dances. Although the custom could be annoying to leave a partner that you were enjoying dancing with for either a partner you did not like or possibly no partner at all, it was continually reinforced that it was a patriotic thing to do. "

What do you think of the video clip with steal dancing? Tell me.

Jerry Lewis - Errand Boy

Jerry Lewis is great comic actor when it comes to adapting his expressions to fit the music. Here is a video clip with Jerry Lewis from the movie "Errand boy" where he imagines what it's like to be the boss. He mimes to the song "Blues in Hoss Flat" by Count Basie.



More info about the film Errand boy at Internet Movie Database.

If you like this clip, you'll also like Jerry Lewis in the film Cinderfella.

What do you think of the video clip with Jerry Lewis from the film Errand Boy? Tell me.

Herrang Dance Camp: Media attention

Today my local newspaper, Uppsala Nya Tidning (UNT), published a two page article about Herräng Dance Camp telling "Herräng has become the Mecca for swing dancing".

I guess I blogged a lot about Herräng Dance Camp but the fact is that Herräng is a big thing. Where else in the world do you have an international dance camp that goes on for five weeks with a total of approximately 3000 participants?

Herräng Dance Camp has been world famous within the swing community for a long time but ever since Swedish television aired Svante Grundberg's documentary about the camp: "Swingen anfaller" two years ago the camp has come within the radar reach of the media. Nowadays it's possible that if you say that you've been to Herräng Dance Camp on vacation, the person you talk to says "Yeah, I know about that camp". Previously, you just got a "Huh?". Ain't that cool?

UNT has also a video clip from Herräng Dance Camp with interviews of Lennart Westerlund, Åsa Palm and Daniel Heedman et al. Almost everything is in Swedish, but if you'd like some glipses of what it's like at the camp, take a look.

You will see some of the surroundings, the classes and The Meeting. BTW, does someone know what song is played in the end of the clip when they show the social dancing?

What do you think of the article and the video clip from Herräng Dance Camp? Tell me.

Jam session: Duke Ellington plays C Jam Blues

Here is a soundie called Jam Session with Duke Ellington where he plays the song C Jam Blues together with other great jazz musicians as Ben Webster, Sonny Greer, Ray Nance, Rex Stewart, Joe Nanton and Barney Bigard.



What do you think of C Jam Blues from 1942 with Duke Ellington? Tell me.

Herräng Dance Camp on TV: Godmorgon Sverige

As I mentioned on Saturday, the Herräng Dance Camp has started and will go on for five weeks this summer. Today the dance camp got some media attention when Åsa Palm and Daniel Heedman from the Harlem Hot Shots visited the morning tv show "Godmorgon Sverige".

Åsa and Daniel are intervjued (in Swedish) and they also show some medium tempo lindy hop (4:10 into the video clip). They talk about the name lindy hop ("Lindy hops the Atlantic") and that there are still things to learn even though one has been dancing 14 years (as Åsa has been doing). They also describe what it's like on Herräng Dance Camp, dancing 24/7.

Take a look at the video clip with Palm and Daniel Heedman from "Godmorgon Sverige".

What do you think of the interview? What was the song they danced to? Tell me.

Regular readers: introduce yourself!

I've been running this blog a while now and I know that I have a bunch of regular readers. Thank you very much for reading! I think by now you have a pretty good idea what this blog is about.

However, as much as I like writing and sharing good music that makes you want to dance, I also like to connect with you, yes you! I like to know more about you.

Tell me a little bit about yourself by making a comment to this post or by sending an email to me at swing@theheartofgold.org. I would appreciate that very much!

Film: Quintette du Hot Club de France

Sometime around 1938-1939 The Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grapelli as prominent members of the jazz group made a tour to England. To promote the tour and to explain the difference between jazz and the contemporary english music a short film was made for the english audience. Here is the film with Quintette du Hot Club de France.



This kind of jazz is often called gypsy jazz. The Quintette du Hot Club de France is unusual because the band has only string instruments.

What do you think of the video clip with Quintette du Hot Club de France? Tell me.