Wooster and Jeeves sings Minnie the Moocher

During the past weekend I was once again reminded of the excellent tv series Jeeves & Wooster. So what could be better than to show you a clip from the very first episode of Jeeves & Wooster. Here is Bertie Wooster playing the song Minnie The Moocher and Jeeves reluctantly helps him with the call and response part: Ho-de-ho-de-ho and Te-de-he-de-he. Hilarious if you ask me. Hihi.



If you liked this video clip, you should also watch Wooster play the song Nagasaki.

What do you think about the video clip with Wooster and Jeeves singing Minnie the Moocher? Tell me.

Man, That's Groovy with Jimmy Dorsey and Helen O'Connell

A while ago I wrote about a PBS documentary about soundies. In the trailer for the documentary I spotted a soundie that I really liked: the song Man, That's Groovy with Jimmy Dorsey and singer Helen O'Connell. Enjoy this video clip.



In "Man, That's Groovy" Helen O'Connell sings about the slang words used in the 1930s called jive talk.

All the cats are solid senders and especially Jimmy Dorsey when he takes off with his clarinet. Helen O'Connell is a solid canary and this song makes me want to be a rug cutter. Jack, do you collar this jive?

If that last paragraph was hard to understand, you should check out Cab Calloways jive dictionary.

What do you think of this video clip with Jimmy Dorsey and Helen O'Connell? 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.

Jumpin' Jive with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers

Some jazz bands "just" played their music while other bands made an extra effort to really entertain the audience/dancers. A jazz orchestra that did the latter was the big band led by Cab Calloway. He had a very outgoing personality and put that extra energy into the performance that really made it entertaining.

In this video clip from the movie Stormy Weather Cab Calloway performs the song Jumpin' Jive followed by an amazing tap routine by the Nicholas Brothers.



This was the first clip I ever saw of the Nicholas Brothers and every time I'm surprised that they don't kick any musicians when they jump around in the bandstand. (A'int that a kick in the head?).

One of the things that I would like to point out in this video clip from Stormy Weather is the use of "call and response" (which Cab Calloway used a lot). The first occurrence is when he sings one bar of music and the band answers in the other bar in that phrase.

You also see call and response between the piano player and the Nicholas Brothers tapping on the piano and then of course between the Nicholas Brothers themselves.

What do you think of this video clip with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers? Tell me.

Small dj set at Dekadans

Last night Elin and Jonas were djs at Dekadans. They had to leave a little bit early so I filled in and djed some songs.

I played, among other songs, Hoy hoy by Cab Calloway and East Side Jive by Big Rude Jake.

The photo shows the nice environment at Västgöta nation where the club is located. If you haven't been here I recommend a visit. The photo is taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

Where you there? What do you think of the evening? Tell me.