Hey Mr Jesse: November podcast with Nikki Yanofsky

The November episode of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse is just released.

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.

This episode they got an interview with the Canadian jazz singer Nikki Yanofsky who just released her first album. Take a look at what more is in the show: read the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse November 2008.

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

This is my mail contribution to the November podcast:

Since I celebrate my 10th anniversary as a lindy hopper I'd like to highlight one of the songs that I associate with learning lindy hop.

The song is "Three Cool Cats" with the Swedish band Jump4Joy. The band is led by Ulf Sandström (a great boogie woogie piano player) and "Mighty" Bo Gustavsson (on tenor sax).

Their website can be found at: http://www.jump4joy.se/

I also celebrate my 500th post on my blog. Jeez, that's a lot of posts!

One of the best videos that I've featured on the blog is of Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears playing the song "Truckin" where Ina Ray also taps.

If that video don't get you in a good mood, you should probably see a doctor.

Take a look at what I've written about the previous Hey Mr Jesse podcasts.

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

Nikki Yanofsky's Debut Album: Ella...Of Thee I Swing

Canada's jazz prodigy, Nikki Yanofsky, has just released her debut album: "Ella...Of Thee I Swing" as well as full concert DVD. Take a look at all the songs that are included on "Ella...Of Thee I Swing" and listen to them. You can also buy the cd on iTunes.

As the album title indicates, Nikki Yanofsky sings songs associated with Ella Fitzgerald. I think this is perfect for her first album, especially since Nikki got discovered when she sang Ella songs. It's worth noting that Nikki Yanofsky got discovered at an younger age than Ella Fitzgerald was. Nikki is 14 now, just imagine what her singing will be like in three years.

Nikki's voice has really matured a lot since I first heard her sing Airmail Special. It's still a little bit girlish, naturally, but I can't wait to hear more of her work in the coming years.

In the video clip above you'll find Nikki Yanofsky singing at Montreal Jazz Festival 2008.

What do you think of Nikki Yanofsky and her debut album: Ella...Of Thee I Swing? Please comment.

1st anniversary for Swing, Jazz & Blues

It's time to celebrate. One year has passed since I started this blog. Time flies when you're having fun!

It's time to sum up what has happened. Here is a list with most popular posts.

Most popular posts:

1. Interview with Cynthia Millman, co-author of the autobiography by Frankie Manning: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. The most important book in the swing dance world was finally ready.
   


2. Christina Aguilera - Music video: Candy man. Christina Aguilera realeased an album inspired by the 1930's-1940's and this video clip from the song Candyman had many references to the swing era.
   


3. Nikki Yanofsky sings Airmail Special like Ella Fitzgerald.
   
   The young singer Nikki Yanofsky knocked out everybody with her singing. I think she has a brilliant career ahead of her. Also don't miss the video clip where Nikki Yanofsky sings Evil Gal Blues.
   


4. Interview with Ralph Giordano, author of Social Dancing in America
   
   I did an in-depth interview with Ralph Giordano who wrote two volumes about social dance in America. The best thing about the books are that they not just talk about the dance it self but also the social environment where dance dance was created.
   
   Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?
   Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book?
   Part 3: Can you share some interesting facts about Lindy hop?
   Part 4: Do you include Balboa in the book?
   Part 5: Tell me about the next book you're writing: Satan in the dance hall
   Part 6: Contents of volume one 1607-1900
   
   
5. Video clips and photographs
   
   Equally popular were the pages where I collect all the posts that have video clips and photographs. Both are visually very important to this blog.
   
   If you just recently discovered this blog, I really encourage you to look the archive. There are a lot of gems hiding there. Also check out 5 tips: how to get the most out of this blog
   

What was your personal favorite post the last year? Tell me.

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.

Hey Mr Jesse: October show

Regular readers of this blog should be familiar with the Hey Mr Jesse podcast by now, if you just discovered this blog, check out what I've written about the podcast in the past. If you haven't listened to the show yet, you really should do it now, it's well worth it. Download the show here.

First off is the news that my friend and swing dj colleague Jonas Pettersson will be the guest dj at Yehoodi Radio on Thursdays during October. Earlier this year Jesse Miner asked for suggestions of swing djs that hadn't played on the show before so I suggested Jonas. Yay, he's here! I expect great music and I'm looking forward to his set (if I only can get the Live365 to work).

I don't want to reiterate everything so just read the show notes from the October podcast to see all the contents of the show, it's all there.

As always, the real gem of the Hey Mr Jesse podcast is the interview. This time it's David Berger from The Sultans of Swing who is interviewed. He talks about how you arrange a swing song and the thought process behind. Really educational. Recommend listening.

I always try to send some comments to Jesse and Manu and some of them are mentioned in the show. I tipped them about Jimmy Smith playing Moanin' and Nikki Yanofsky singing Evil Gal Blues. It also seems that they might feature a interview with Nikki Yanofsky later on, I hope that'll be the case.

What did you think about the October podcast of Hey Mr Jesse? Tell me.

Nikki Yanofsky sings Evil Gal Blues

The 13-year-old singer Nikki Yanofsky just keeps getting better and better, take a look at Nikki Yanofsky singing Evil Gal Blues at Place des Arts in Montreal, Canada. There is no doubt that she is a rising star in the world of jazz and blues.



The song, Evil gal blues, is written by the journalist/ lyricist/ composer Leonard Feather. Leonard Feather has also written lots of books about jazz.

I've featured Nikki Yanofsky before when she sang Airmail Special and It Don't Mean A Thing.

What do you think of Nikki Yanofsky? 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.

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.