Dance picnic with Lennakatten Aug 31st

Join me on Sunday Aug 31st at the annual dance picnic that Swingkatten organizes. We take the steam train Lennakatten out to the station in Länna and walks to Kopphagens dansbana where the band Canal Street Syncopators will play swing in a 1930's style.

The train leaves the station Uppsala Östra (Bergsbrunnagatan 2) at 11.25. The ride costs 45 kr for for swing dancers and the fee for the dance is 60 kr.

There will be hamburgers, lemonade and cakes for sale.

The video clip above is made by me from fotage from the very first picnic in 2005.

We made an extra ride with Lennakatten this spring, check out this video clip to see more of Kopphagens dansbana.



Will you join us on Sunday? What do you think of my promotion video? Please comment.

Outdoor summer dancing: season finale

Tonight is the last time for the summer that there is dancing by the river a.k.a Lindy At the Quayside. The season ends with a BBQ, bring something to eat and dance a lot.

According to the organizers the party won't stop until they run out of battery for the boombox, there are people left, people have to work next day or the snow start falling, whatever happens first.



Speaking of the organizers, what a great bunch of people that has made it possible to dance lindy hop and balboa by the river all summer. Thank you, Lars-Åke, Susanne, Emil, Joakim, Tobbe and Rebecca.



Above is some pictures from this season. The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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 this season of dancing by the river? Please comment.

Lisa Ekdahl - Now or never

Lisa Ekdahl's version of "Now or never" fit the mood of a Saturday morning with sunny weather and clear breeze that hints that the autumn is soon here.

This version from the album "Back To Earth" where Lisa Ekdahl sings together with the Peter Nordahl trio has a bossanova beat but it still swings, hard, just listen to the part between 2.10 and 2.30. Oh, yeah!

I like the idea in the music video with a dance contest in the school. Fits perfect as most schools start the autumn semester right now.

The trio consists of Ronnie Gardiner (drums), Patrik Boman (bass) and Peter Nordahl (piano).

What are your favorite songs for a Saturday morning?

What do you think of Lisa Ekdahl singing Now or never? Please comment.

Charles Brown - Drifting Blues

I really like Charles Brown and his song Drifting Blues in this video clip where he also talks how he started playing the blues. I dig this genre of piano based slow blues. Perfect as late night music and for blues dancing.

You can find more of his music in the album Driftin' Blues: The Best of Charles Brown.

I mentioned Charles Brown in my tips to Hey Mr Jesse in August.

Do you also like this type of slow blues? What artist would you recommend? Please comment.

Swing i Swaben

This weekend, starting tomorrow Friday, there will be an event called Swing i Swaben.

Good bands, social dancing, dance classes and all sorts of fun.

This announcement comes a little bit late, but if you're a spontaneous person you still have time to join the fun. I wish I could be there. Some of my friends will be there: Emelie & Rebecka Decavita will teach lindy hop and Trina Dobbs (with her company Jigwalk) will sell vintage style shoes.

What do you think of Swing i Swaben? Please comment.

100 Great Records Of The 1920s

If upu are interested in jazz music history, you should check out 100 Great Records Of The 1920s which is a series of blog posts by writer Jonathan Bogart.

This seems to be a terrific starting point to learn about the early jazz musicians (and other pop culture musicians) of the 1920's. You can even hear samples of some songs.

I haven't had the time to read it properly, so let me know if you find an artist that I should take a closer look at.

What is your favorite record or artist from this list? Please comment.

I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby: Lino Patruno

I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby is a jazz standard that was written by Fats Waller in 1931. Lino Patruno from Italy and his band interprets "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" in this video clip.

I think my favorite song by Fats Waller is Honeysuckle Rose. What is your favorite Fats Waller song?

What do you think of this version of I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby? Please comment.

Fever - Peggy Lee + Elvis Presley

Fever is not a swing song per se but it swings. I'm sure you have danced to this groovy song. The most famous version of Fever was made by Peggy Lee in 1958, but I thought I share another version (in the video clip above) which is more uptempo (from the late 1960's according to the youtube poster).

Apart from the awesome groove that Fever has, the song's other great quality is the hits in the music. As a dancer it's always fun to interpret those hits by accentuating ones movements.

As an inspiration to what you can do, take a look at Elvis Presley performing Fever at a concert in 1973. He certainly got the moves, don't you agree?



What do you think of Peggy Lee and Elvis Presley singing Fever? Please comment.

Stardust with Peter Lind & The Cabaret Band

Tonight the show Stardust will be performed at Parksnäckan
by Peter Lind & The Cabaret Band. The show is about the musicians in Harlem in the 1930's.

The show starts at 19.30 and costs 90 kr (70 kr with UNT-card).

What do you think of Peter Lind & The Cabaret Band? Please comment.

It's time to dance Madison

When I looked at the stats of this blog today, I once again saw a increased interest in dances from 1961. In January I asked "What is so interesting about dances from 1961?" Well, aparantly it's a clue in a crossword and the solution is "Watusi".

I thought I would feature another dance from the 1960's: The Madison. The video clip above is from the film "Bande a Part" (Band of Outsiders) from 1964.

I love the combination of attitude and casual style and also the surrealistic moment when the music stops during the voice-over but the dancers continue to dance.

A friend of mine run a film marathon once a year where everybody watches 5 or 6 movies in a row, each movie has a different style I think this movie would be a perfect candidate in the "surrealistic section" of the evening.

Do you sometimes dance without music?

What do you think of the video clip with people dancing the Madison? Please comment.

Hey Mr Jesse: August podcast

The August episode of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse is just released. Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where Jesse Miner and Manu Smith (a.k.a. Spuds) talk about swingin' music that matters to dancers.

I'm listening to the podcast as I write this. You can see what is in the show by looking at the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse August 2008. If I find time I'll post more comments about the podcast later on when I've finished listening to it.

Download the August 2008 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

I'm sending swing music tips each month to the show, but since they have picked up more listeners, they also get more feedback that they want to feature. This means that not every tip I send make it into the podcast because they have to edit the show to squeeze in most of the information. That should tell you that is a jam packed show with lots of swinging music. But I'm totally cool with that.

So, if you like my suggestions on the Hey Mr Jesse podcast, be sure to check out the blog as well, because there might be more...

Here is my tips for the August podcast:

Hi Mr Jesse! Hi Spuds!

First tip:

I'm picking up the thread from July where I mentioned Jimmy Sapienza's Five Guys Named Moe who played some Louis Jordan songs.

An artist who was also inspired by Louis Jordan was his contemporary: Calvin Boze. Calvin Boze's most famous song is Safronia B, which you might know by some of the lyrics: "I surrender! I surrender!"

I'd like to recommend a compilation album with Calvin Boze called "Havin' A Ball". It has some really good jump blues / rhythm & blues songs like Lizzy Lou, Fishtail and my favorite: "Beale Street On A Saturday Night".

The song is obviously inspired by Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry" but it got another kind of vibe.

Second tip:

Continuing on the theme "similar but different" I want to mention the pianist and singer Charles Brown. He played in a small group that sounded similar to the Nat King Cole trio.

On the compilation album "Charles Brown 1947-1948" he does a version of "Moneys Getting Cheaper". I like one of his songs that is called "If You Dont Why Dont Ya!".

Bonus tip:

Now that I have been givin credit to two fairly unknown artists, I came to think of another unknown band called Comfy Chair from Berkeley, California.

Confy Chair do a song called "Givin' Credit" where they honor Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington and the other jazz greats. I dont really know how to classify their music style, progressive rock maybe(?), I think they themself call it "slamswing".

Along with this song from their debut CD in 1997, 'Party on the Titanic', is a song about Thomas "Fats" Waller, which is simply called: "Fats". I also really like the song "Renaissance In Harlem".

Here is a video clip with Comfy Chair:



Remember, if you like you can become a fan of the Swing, jazz and blues blog on Facebook.

What do you think of the August edition of the Hey Mr Jesse podcast? Please comment.

The Perfect Proposal: with L-O-V-E

I came across this funny video clip with the title "The Perfect Proposal" where a marriage proposal doesn't exactly go according to the plan. The soundtrack to the video clip is the song L-O-V-E that was written by Milt Gabler and Bert Kaempfert for Nat King Cole.

I'm not sure if it's Nat King Cole who sings this version, it doesn't sound like him but I may be wrong. Do you know who sings this version?

I have mostly heard the version of L-O-V-E from Nat King Cole's daughter Natalie Cole's album Unforgetable.

On a side note: I'm putting together a cd with swing music that is going to be played in the band breaks at a friend's wedding next weekend. I would like to include some swing love songs. Do you have any suggestions?

If you're in a fluffy "Oh-sho-be-do-be-oo-oo" state of mind, check out a real "Perfect Proposal". So romantic, say after me: "Aaaww!" :-)

What do you think of the video clip? Got any suggestions for swinging love songs? Please comment.

Monica Zetterlund - Sakta vi gå genom stan

It's time for some late night music again, this time I'd like to present Monica Zetterlund who was one of Sweden's best jazz singers.

Monica Zetterlund sings "Sakta vi gå genom stan" which is the Swedish version of "Walking My Baby Back Home". The Swedish lyrics was written by Beppe Wolgers. The new lyrics stays true to the original but also pays a tribute to Stockholm as a beautiful summer city.

What do you think of Monica Zetterlund singing Sakta vi gå genom stan? Please comment.

Canal Street Syncopators: Rooftop concert

Tonight the band Canal Street Syncopators will play on a rooftop concert at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, that's smack dab in the middle of Stockholm by Sergels torg. Canal Street Syncopators is a great orchestra, you should see them if you have the opportunity .



At 18 there will be a taster lesson in how to dance charleston taught by Fatima Teffahi from the Harlem Hot Shots. The Canal Street Syncopators will play from 19-22 then The Rhythm Sweethearts will dj until midnight. There will be a dance show by the Midnight Rounders (does anyone know anything about that group?). Tickets cost 150 kr.

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

What do you think of the Canal Street Syncopators? Please comment.

Lars Erstrand Four: Concert photos

After a warm week of sunny weather, Mother Nature (or Thor) decided that a big thunderstorm was in place just before the Lars Erstrand Four started their concert at Parksnäckan. As Parksnäckan is an outdoor stage this made it less desirable to sit under the open sky, but the staff found a solution, they rearranged the band on the stage, which is quite big, and invited the audience on stage where they had put out chairs. This made the concert very intimate.


This was the the 30th summer that Lars Erstrand played at Parksnäckan and the group has found it's format with about half swinging numbers and the other half with ballads. Excellent musicianship from all the band members. I especially like the drumming that Björn Sjödin does, he has so many different ways of accentuate the music. His joy of playing really is contagious. I'd say Björn Sjödin is the best jazz drummer in Uppsala right now.




The band played some songs that they always play. Being a dancer I didn't care too much for the ballads even though they were very beuatiful. I like the uptempo songs like: How high the moon, Stompin' at the Savoy and Flying Home. They also did a latin jazz number that I enjoyed.

Tip: If you sit on the front row you can hear the humorous banter between the band members.

In the band you also have Arne Wilhemsson on bass and Bertil Fernqvist on guitar.

The next jazz concert at Parksnäckan will be Aug 12th when Peter Lind and the Cabaret band performs the show Stardust. Stardust is about the jazz musicians in Harlem in the 1930's and 1940's. Don't miss that.

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

What do you think of Lars Erstrand Four? Please comment.