Hey Mr Jesse: September podcast

The September episode of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse is just released. This time the show recorded live at the lindy hop camp Swing Out New Hampshire.

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. Take a look at what is in the show: read the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse September 2008.

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

I have some things from the podcast I'd like to comment on:

First of all, Jesse was spot on that the source of the my tip about Calvin Boze in the August episode was from the MP3 blog Be Bop Vino.

Just like Jesse I have mixed feelings about MP3 blogs and I wasn't sure if I should name it as a source so I stayed on the safe(?) side and didn't mention it.

But now that the cat is out of the bag, it's only fair that you, my blog readers, should know about it too: Take a look at the Calvin Boze album: "Havin' A Ball" at Be Bop Vino. Be Bop Vino is a great blog that gives you tips about jazz and blues artists.

Secondly, the September podcast features a good interview with swing dj Rayned Wiles about the photograph "A Great Day in Harlem" by Art Kane. Rayned has prepared a 8 hour (!) show on Yehoodi radio featuring all the jazz musicians in the photograph. I just have to say: wow.

I've had the idea of blogging about that photo since I first started blogging but never got around to do it, so this is a perfect time to at least mention some things about it.

In addition to listening to Rayned's radio show you should see the documentary "A Great Day in Harlem" where you get all kinds of stories about the making of the photograph. You can borrow it at the Uppsala City Library if you like or buy the documentary from Amazon.com.

There are much more in the show but at last I want to mention that Bernard Berkhout and his orchestra has made some video clips available on Youtube. Great stuff. The video clip in the beginning of this post is the song House Hop.

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

Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band at Uppsala Winter Swing

Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band played at Uppsala Winter Swing, the jazz festival that took place here in Uppsala in January. The Cabaret Band plays swing and jazz mostly from the 1930's.


The band consists of Peter Lind (trumpet), Mats Josephson (trombone), John Högman, (saxophone och clarinet), Claes-Göran Skoglund (piano), Kjell Grundström (bass and tuba) and Björn Sjödin (drums).

Peter Lind is a wonderful entertainer who tells very good anecdotes about the swing era. They played two sets at the jazz festival and I enjoyed both of them.

They even did a small dance number of the song "(Everybody's) Truckin'". The jazz dance move Truckin' almost made it to Sweden. The footwork was lost but the shaking (waving?) of the finger can be seen in movies like "Swing it, magistern" featuring jazz singer Alice Babs.

Peter Lind and his Cabaret Band has an upcoming show called Stardust. Stardust is about jazz in Harlem. They talk about the stars that performed there, about how and why the melodies were written. They feature musicians like Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Condon.

The show will be at Eklundshof in Uppsala, Sun March 25th. I don't know what the ticket situation is like. If you like to see Stardust, you better mail Björn Sjödin and inquire.


The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without written permission.

Have you seen Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Cab Calloway - Jitterbug Party

Cab Calloway was known for his energetic way of leading his jazz orchestra. Did you think that hard rock fans invented head banging? No, that was Cab Calloway. Take a look at him in this video clip called Jitterbug Party from 1935.

The video shows Cab Calloway performing "Call Of The Jitterbug" and "Long About Midnight" at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. After the performance they walk through Harlem to a late night house party and in the end it looks like they are dancing some version of the shim sham.



I don't exactly know when the term "Jitterbug" was coined (do you?) but in this video clip it also refers to a person that drinks a little too much "jitter sauce".

What do you think of this video clip of Cab Calloway? Tell me.