Swing, jazz and blues - Dance to the music

It seems like there is going to be a movie made about Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald and the Savoy Ballroom called The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America. Check out the video clips.

The documentary features interviews with Frankie Manning and Norma Miller.

(via Charlie)
What do you think of the movie? Please comment.

The legendary Lindy hop dancer Frankie Manning passed away today, Monday morning, in New York, 94 years old.

I first encountered Frankie at my first visit to Herräng Dance Camp. What struck me was his good spirit and his infectious laugh. To me he embodied everything that lindy hop is all about: joy and happiness.

Frankie Manning contributed so much to this world. We will miss you!

Tell me your stories about Frankie Manning! Please comment.

Frankie Manning, the lindy hop legend, turns 95 in May, and he is going to have a gigantic birthday party in New York.

Peter Strom & Ramona Staffeld have created a choreography to honor Frankie at his birthday. People all over the world have participated in performing it and of course we have also done it in Uppsala. The video above is from Tuesday at Cats Corner at Smålands nation.

The song is Savoy by Lucky Millinder.

I think it looks really nice. What do you think? Please comment.

Shim sham is a jazz routine that originally was a tap routine. It's know by swing dancers all over the world.

In order to celebrate Frankie Manning's upcoming 95th birthday, Michael Jagger performs the shim sham in a most amusing way by using buns and fork to show the routine.

The song in the video clip is "T'ain't what you do" by Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra.

Great stuff, does anyone know more about Michael Jagger and the film maker John Damn? Tell me.

(Found via Finn)

What do you think of the video clip with shim sham? Please comment.

Book review: Frankie Manning - Ambassador of Lindy Hop

A year ago the legendary lindy hopper Frankie Manning published his autobiography called Frankie Manning - Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Frankie Manning is one of the most influential dancers in the swing dance history and the story about him and his life was highly anticipated.

Frankie Manning's autobiography is important in several ways:

The personal story of an influential dancer
This is the personal story about one of the most influential lindy hop dancers in the history of swing dancing. Frankie was the first lindy hopper to really use airials (air steps, acrobatic steps) in his dancing and performing. He has had a great career as a dancer both as an innovator in the early years of lindy hop but also as an important person in the revival of the lindy hop in the 1980's.

The evolution of the lindy hop
It is the story how lindy hop and swing dancing evolved in the early day. Lindy hop had already gotten its name (by "Shorty" George Snowden, it's said) when Frankie started dancing and the basic structure was there but it was still very much an evolving dance. Frankie Manning tell us about how dance concepts, that now are commonplace, were developed. One of those concepts is the twisting in the swingout by the ladies.

Growing up in the swing era
The book tells about how it was to grow up and live in the swing era. Many dancers today are very curious about what life was like in the swing era and it's great to get a first hand account of the life style of a dancer hanging out in the ballrooms in New York in the 1930's.

You also get to know a little bit more about the other great dancers that lived then. Since most of them didn't participate in the swing revival in the 1980's, they have been partly forgotten about but in this book they get their credit. You get more background information about the dancers you've only seen in movie clips.

A dancer's perspective of the entertainment industry
Most of the books that has been written about entertainment industry in the swing era have focused on the bands, the musicians and the singers. Therefore it's refreshing to have a new perspective, a dancer's perspective, on the entertainment industry during the 1930s-1950s.

You get the insider story about what went on behind the scenes in the filming of Hellzapoppin. You'll get the stories about preparing for the performances on stage and the tours with the dance groups Whitey's Lindy Hoppers and The Congaroos.

Frankie Manning provides some new stories about the big stars and performers of that time, such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Billy Holiday.

Dealing with segregation
There is also a theme in the book about segregation and how people (and Frankie in particular) dealt with it. The famous Savoy ballroom where Frankie spent most of his time dancing was integrated but a lot of places weren't. He talks about segregation during his tours in the south of USA and during his time in the army during World War II.

Facts about the dances and the era
Cynthia R. Millman is the co-author of the book and and most of the stories in the book comes from interviews and talks she has had with Frankie. Besides being the person putting the book together she also contributes some texts of her own in the book. She has written fact pages inserted here and there that presents facts about related dances and phenomenons like Charleston, Big Apple, breaks (in the music) or the Cats' Corner.

My thoughts about the book
I think this is an important book for anyone who is interested in lindy hop or the swing era. I've heard Frankie Manning's stories when he have visited the Herräng Dance Camp and it's nice to have them collected in written form. Not much is written about social dancing and I think it is important that Frankie's stories are written down so that they don't get altered when being retold.

I find the book pretty complete but I would have liked more information about his experiences during the swing revival in the 1980's and 1990's.

Anyone who have met Frankie Manning can tell you that his smile and his laugh is infectious. I think his positive attitude really comes across in the book.

If you're a lindy hopper, you should own this book!

Furter reading:
Table of contents of the book
My interview with Cyntia R. Millman
All blog posts about Frankie Manning.
Another review of the book by JazzReview

Have you read "Frankie Manning - Ambassador of Lindy Hop"? What do you think about the autobiography? Tell me.

Thanks to Cynthia R. Millman and Temple University Press for providing me with a copy of the book.

A reader of the blog, Hans, tipped me about that a Russian guy had made a version of the famous lindy hop sequence from the film Hellzapoppin' where the music has been substituted to Jumpin' at the Woodside, which was the original song that Frankie Manning choreographed the routine to.
Have a look at the Hellzapoppin' lindy routine done to Jumpin' at the Woodside

Then you can compare it to the original film version of the Hellzapoppin routine:

I think the Jumpin' at the Woodside version is slightly better. You can discuss the video clip over at SwingDjs.com.

Which version do you think is best? Tell me.

The June edition of Swing Dancer Magazine is now online.

It features an article by David Graybill about how to organize and promote dance events that has several kinds of swing dances at one time. Noelle Gray writes about the levels you go through as you become a better swing dancer. There is also an interview with Mary Ann Nunez who appears in this video clip with the Dean Collins Lindy Hoppers from 1983 (provided by Peter Loggins).

Editor Christina Oppold has also written a review of Frankie Manning's autobiography: "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Swing".

What do you think of the June edition of Swing Dancer Magazine? Tell me.

The June edition of the podcast Hey Mr Jesse is now available. [Download (40 MB, mp3)]

While all things they mention are good stuff, I think the best parts of the show are the interviews. They have a clip from the Philadelphia Lindy Exchange 2007 DJ Summit where several swing dj's talk about how they structure a set. Great stuff, I probably will get back to you with more comments about that later on.

Jesse Miner och Manu Smith also does a mini interview with band leader Gordon Webster and play a really good slow blues song from his new cd "Blues Till Dawn".

They give some more info about things already mentioned in this blog like:

It nice to have topics covered from a slightly different angle.

Also they feature a comment from my swing dj colleague here in Uppsala: Jonas Pettersson regarding the last shows interview with Jonathan Stout and how he broke down the information about different kinds of swing rythms.

Read the show notes for Hey Mr Jesse - June edition to see everything they talk about in the show.

If you're interested, read what I written before about previous Hey Mr Jesse shows.

What do you think of the June edition of Hey Mr Jesse? Tell me.

Today is Frankie Manning's 93rd birthday. Frankie is one of the most influential swing dancers through history. To celebrate his birthday people all over the world are coming together to give him a great gift: to make his new book "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" a best seller at Amazon.com by buying his autobiography today, May 26th.

Read more about the campaign and about Frankie Manning.

Buy your copy of "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop"!

Congratulations Frankie!

Did you buy a copy of the book today? Tell me.

I've heard several stories that lindy hop legend Frankie Manning have told when he have visit Herräng Dance Camp. He has visited Herräng so many times, so put together it's probably a year of his life that he has spent there.

In this video clip Frankie Manning tells the stories about his best dancing nights. One is when there were a Battle Of the Bands between Chick Webb och Count Basie at the Savoy ballroom and the other one is when he did the first aerial (air step) in the history of lindy hop.

If you like to read more of Frankie Manning's stories, you should buy his new autobiography "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop".

There is a campaign to make Frankie's book a best seller at Amazon.com. Buy your copy of the book on May 26th.

Do you know more about this video clip? What do you think of this video clip with Frankie Manning's stories? Tell me.

Dancing keeps you young, says lindy hop legend Frankie Manning in this video clip from when he was 81 years young. Just look at him dancing, that's what I want to do as well when I'm 81. Now, more than ten years later Frankie is still going strong, so follow Frankie's advice:

"Anybody out there who is not dancing should start."

On Saturday May 26th Frankie celebrates his 93rd(!) birthday and a great gift would be to make his new autobiography "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" a best seller at Amazon.com. Buy your copy of the book on May 26th. Join the campaign.

Wow. 93 years and still young. Dancing and laughing a lot seems to be the way to stay young.

Can anyone tell me who the woman that Frankie is dancing with is?

Does dancing keep you young, just like Frankie Manning says? Tell me.

The autobiography by Frankie Manning: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop has just been released. Cynthia Millman is co-author of the book and I was curious about her so I did an interview with her to find out more about her and the process behind writing the biography.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What do you do for a living? When did you start dancing?

I loved dancing as a kid, but didn’t start training until age 12, after seeing a ballet demonstration. Since then I’ve explored many, many forms of classical, modern, and ethnic dance, but once I discovered swing dancing in the mid 1980s, that was it. I have a master’s degree in dance and dance education, and taught dance (mostly to children) and performed (on and off) for 25 years. Somewhere in there, I made a career shift. I earned a master’s in library science, and have been a children’s librarian for the last fifteen years, currently at The Town School in Manhattan.

When did you first meet Frankie?

I first met Frankie at a dance in 1986, which I describe in the book’s introduction. I didn’t really get to know him until I began performing with the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers in 1990. It was while hearing his stories at dinner after rehearsals that I first realized what an interesting life he had lived, and how gifted he was at describing his experiences.

How would you describe Frankie Manning to someone who doesn’t know him?

Frankie Manning was one of the main creators of the lindy hop at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom during the 1930s. His choregraphic innovations, especially the air step and synchronized ensemble routines, helped catapult the lindy from ballroom to stage and screen. Frankie’s choreography for and performances as a lead dancer with Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers helped popularize the lindy and disseminate it across America and around the world. With the demise of the Swing Era, Frankie took a “temporary” job in the Post Office . . . and ended up working there for 30 years! His rediscovery by a new generation of swing dancers and his professional comeback were a driving force in the swing dance revival that began in the 1980s and is still going strong. Today, at 93, Frankie has a packed teaching schedule and travels constantly to share with others the joy that swing dancing has brought him. An inspiration to us all, Frankie is as beloved for his marvelous personality as he is for his vital role in American dance history.

Frankie is one of my favorite people in the world, and collaborating on his autobiography was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

How come you started to write the book about Frankie Manning?

In 1987, I interviewed Frankie Manning for an article about the swing dance revival for a small local newspaper in Manhattan. I subsequently interviewed him for a master’s thesis project, an extensive exhibit on the history of swing dancing (which showed at swing dance events in New York City, Herrang, London, and Toronto), and for articles in Dance Magazine and The International Encyclopedia of Dance. In 1993, Frankie and I began doing educational presentations on lindy history that included lecture, interview, demonstration, and video clips. Around this time, I realized that I was completely enchanted by the history of swing dancing and asked Frankie if we could do a book together. Happily, he said yes.

Frankie Manning dancing with Cynthia Millman at CAN'T TOP THE LINDY HOP! during a birthday dance on the occasion of his 80th birthday party in New York City, 1994. Photographer: Timothy Swiecicki.

What is your favorite story from the book?

I love all of Frankie’s stories, but the one that stands out for me is when he danced with Betty Grable at a USO show in New Guinea during World War II. In addition to being a fun story, I feel that it illustrates so much of what Frankie is all about: his ability to make the best of a bad situation with incredible pluck and humor; his use of dance to connect to individuals and audiences; his love of entertaining people and lifting their spirits with his dancing; his professionalism as an entertainer; his respect for musicians; his personal charm; and his ability to disable racial prejudice at a time when it was so deeply entrenched in and so openly a part of American culture.

I also find his story about Sergeant Montgomery very moving. It’s one of the first stories I ever heard Frankie tell, and I’ll never forget hearing it that first time.

Now that the book is done, do you have any other subjects that you would like to write about?

As a children’s librarian, I have quite a few ideas for children’s books. I’m also interested in doing some articles on holistic health practices and meditation. And I’m considering some other research projects in the swing dance area.

Is there anything else you would like to mention?

Just that I hope everyone enjoys reading about Frankie Manning's life. Part of why we were able to get a publisher was because we could demonstrate to Temple University Press that there was an extensive international audience for Frankie’s story. Thinking about sharing the book with all of you helped keep us going during the lengthy process of getting that rich, long life into the pages of a book.

Thank you, Cynthia Millman, for taking time to answer the questions!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about the book.

Update: Read my book review here.

Order Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop at Amazon.com. Maybe join the campaign to make the book a best seller?

What do you think of this interview? Got other questions for Cynthia Millman? Tell me.

Usually you will hear the song Watch the Birdie sung by Anita O'day but it first appeared in the movie Hellzapoppin'. Here is a video clip from Hellzapoppin' with Watch the Birdie, the song is sung by Martha Raye.

Before I knew about this clip I always felt like there where something more to the story than what was told in the lyrics, now having seen the clip from Hellzapoppin' (1941), the lyrics make perfect sense.

In this clip there is lindy hop dance sequence where Betty (Martha Raye) dances with Dean Collins. When experienced lindy hoppers think of Hellzapoppin they mostly think of another famous dance sequence from this movie with Frankie Manning, Norma Miller and Al Minns and the rest of the dance troupe Harlem Cangeroos. Therefor I thought it would be nice to show some other swing dancing from that movie.

The Anita O'day version of Watch the Birdie is a great one (Gene Krupas Orchestra is playing), but be careful when you are djing it if you got a lot of beginning dancers on the dance floor because it has some tricky breaks in it.

And while we are talking about birds and photography (well, kind of...), I must show you a cartoon that is played at every Christmas Eve on Swedish television at 3 o'clock. It, together with some other cartoons, has been shown for 30 years, it's a modern tradition.

What do you think of Watch the Birdie (both the Hellzapoppin' and Anita O'day version)? Tell me.

The living Lindy hop legend Frankie Manning has released his biography: "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" (co-written with Cynthia Millman). Since Frankie Manning is having his 93rd birthday at May 26th, there is a campaign to give him a great birthday gift, making his book a bestseller at Amazon.com.

The plan is to have as many people as possible to order Frankie Mannings biography at Amazon May 26th, so it will be on the charts and hopefully thereby get many more peoples attention.

Manu Smith has put together a promotion video about the Frankie Manning bestseller campaign.

You can read more about it at the Frankie Mannings website or at the Yehoodi discussion boards.

Will you participate in this campaign and order "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy hop" on May 26? Tell me.

It's so pleasant to know that in the beginning of each month I know exactly what I'll be blogging about and that is of course the fabulous podcast Hey Mr Jesse. Here is what I wrote about this show earlier.

The thing that makes this podcast great is that Jesse Miner och Manu Smith each episode invites a swing jazz musician and interviews them. This time they interview Jonathan Stout, the band leader of Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five. This might be the best interview so far. If you haven't listened to the podcast before, now is the time to do it.

Besides being a musician, Jonathan Stout is also a swing dancer and he talks about what makes swing music danceable. He gives music examples of different ways to play swing music and how that affects the dancing. One thing he mention is "dancing to the music", which means that if you listen to the music and are interpreting it, the music gives you huge clues about what moves to do.

One of my favorite expressions is: "The music made me do it". That happens when you have this great dance with a great dance partner and you feel absolutely compelled to do a certain movement because it totally fits to the music. Nothing else would have made sense. Both you and partner smile and say: "Yeah, we nailed that one". That's a total connection between you, your partner and the music. It's like the music is standing beside you with a big sledge hammer and say (in the most friendly but firm voice). "Make that move, or else...".

I think the interview is educational both for dancers and musicians.

Jesse Miner mentions a lot of other stuff also, like the upcoming Frankie Manning biography: "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" and the new documentary Anita O'day: The Life of a Jazz Singer.

Check out everything in the show notes for episode number 17 of Hey Mr Jesse.

Download the May episode of Hey Mr Jesse. (50 MB, mp3)

What do you think of the Hey Mr Jesse podcast? Tell me.

Frankie Manning is interviewed in the latest podcast of Yehoodi radio about his upcoming autobiography: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop.

In the interview Frankie tells some stories from his life, he talks about segregation and when he was enlisted in world war II. Despite such serious topics he somehow always stays positive, laughing like just he can.

Since Frankie also has sold movie rights for book, he also talks little about who might play him in a movie. (Update: That's a joke, folks, don't start any rumors)

The segment starts 14:30 into the podcast, if you want to jump directly to the interview, it's 18:45.
Download the podcast (22 MB, mp3)

Preorder Frankie Mannings autobiography from Amazon.

Read my earlier post about the Frankie Manning book.

What do you think after listening to the interview? Tell me.

Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop is a autobiography about Frankie Manning who is a living legend in the world of lindy hop. This 350 page book will tell about his life and his career and I think it will be an important piece in the history of swing dancing. The book is written together with Cynthia Millman.

The biography will be released in April/May but you can preorder it now if you want to get it as soon as it becomes available.

Update: Read my book review here.

If you don't want to wait that long to read about that era, I recommend that you get the book Swinging At The Savoy The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer by Norma Miller who also danced in the show troupe Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.

Temple University Press lists the contents of "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop":

Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword: Mercedes Ellington
Frankie Manning: An Appreciation by Cynthia R. Millman
Prologue: Too Stiff

PART ONE: EARLY STEPS (1914-circa 1933)
Chapter 1. Jazz Baby
Chapter 2. Early Ballroom Forays

PART TWO: SAVOY DANCER (circa 1933-1936)
Chapter 3. To the Savoy at Last
Chapter 4. Whitey, Shorty, and Stretch
Chapter 5. Win Win
Chapter 6. Up in the Air She Goes

PART THREE: WHITEY'S LINDY HOPPERS (1936-1943)
Chapter 7. Going Pro
Chapter 8. Big Time at the Cotton Club
Chapter 9. A Big Apple for Whitey
Chapter 10. On Broadway and In the Movies
Chapter 11. Stranded in Rio

PART FOUR: WAR AND HOME (1943-1984)
Chapter 12. Dancer Interrupted
Chapter 13. The Congaroo Dancers and a Day Job

PART FIVE: SECOND ACT (1984-present)
Chapter 14. Revival

APPENDIXES
A. Frankie Manning Timeline
B. Biographies of Lindy Hoppers
C. List of Works Cited or Consulted
C. Frankie's List of Swing Dance on Film/TV
D. Swing Dance Resources
E. Swing Dance Organizations and Events Index

What are your thoughts about this book? Tell me.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Monday, April 27, 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Monday, August 27, 2007

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Monday, May 7, 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

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