Play swing music for the best dancers

On Tuesday I dj:ed a set at Cats Corner and I felt it went successfully. Swing dancer Peter Loggins told me earlier this year: "Dj for the best dancers". He meant that if you play swing music that satisfies the best dancers and makes them happy, that kind of music will benefit all of the dancers in the dance scene. On Tuesday I looked out over the dance floor and some of the best dancers seemed inspired so I guess I did a pretty good job.

So, what kind of music did I play?

I was happy to play a couple of songs by the swing band 4beat6 from the Netherlands. I was happy to for the first time introduce the crowd to swing songs sung by Nikki Yanofsky: "Betcha Nickel" and "Lullaby Of Birdland", which she recorded last year when she was 12! Amazing! I can't wait to hear more songs from Nikki Yanofsky.

I featured some songs from the vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: "A Mellow Tone" and "Twist City" from the great album "The Hottest New Group In Jazz".


It was good to hear the new swing dj, Dietmar, dj for his first time. It's always refreshing to hear someone else's music selections.

When the set (and the swing night) was over I played one song just to amuse the crowd that was still there: "Pussy, Pussy, Pussy" by the Hot Club of Cowtown from a live album called Continental Stomp.

Were you at Cats Corner on Tuesday? What do you think of my music choices? Tell me.