Natalie Migdal - Live at Grand

What does it look like when Swingkatten has one of its swing dance nights at Grand? Here is a peek from the season finale the 8th of May when the Natalie Migdal Kvintett visited us.

The video is taken by our trusted sound guy, Olle Svensson, who also mixed the sound for the video.

What do you think of the video clip with Natalie Migdal? Please comment.

Ulf Johansson Werre at Grand: Photos

The band for the Friday night dance at Uppsala Winter Camp was Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra. Ulf Johansson Werre had put together this band with some other professional jazz musicans: Tommy Johnsson (bass), Claes Askelöf (guitar) and Calle Rasmusson (drums).



The great thing about professional musicians such as them is that they often add more "texture" to the music, which the dancers can pick up and play with. If they overdo it, it becomes more "jazzy" than swinging, but as long as you have a good rhythm section you can't go wrong. I think the band had a really good swinging sound all through the night.





In the end of the first set Ulf Johansson Werre looked down at the dance floor where he saw Ida Widberg who also sings in The Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra where Ulf is the musical director.

He invited her onto the stage and she sang All Of Me (if I remember correctly).

Later on there was another guest appearance when Christoffer Alehed joined the band with his trombone for two songs.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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 Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra? Please comment.

Cats Corner at Grand tonight

The venue for our weekly dance night Cats Corner has changed for the rest of the season due to unforseen problems. Tonight and next week we will be at Grand. What a super location. Tonight's dj is Trina Dobbs.

As usual: 20-23. 20 kr. Lots of fun!

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license it.

What do you think of Cats Corner this season? Please comment.

Swe-dukes at Grand Swing Night

The band Swe-dukes will play at Grand tonight. Come and dance lindy hop, balboa or whatever the music tell you to do.

The evening starts at 20 with DJ David and the band enters the stage at 21 and plays until midnight when I will dj a late night set.

Come join us! Grand, Trädgårdsgatan 5, Uppsala. 80 kr.

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Anything Goes: Show photos

I saw the musical Anything Goes at Grand last night. It's a nice musical about young love, crime and all sorts of complications. It's a lightweight way to spend an evening with song, dance and comedy.



The show even had small parts with charleston and lindy hop.

If you want to see the show, you'll have another chance on Sunday May 11th at 20:00.



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

Have you seen Anything Goes at Grand? What do you think of the musical? Tell me.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers - Chicago boogie

Here is a music video featuring Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers playing Chicago boogie.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers is a popular rhythm & blues band from Uppsala. The video was shot at Grand with a lot of dancers from Swingkatten. You might want to look at how the video shoot looked like in November last year.

If you want to dance to them, you can do that in Stockholm May 17th at Swedish Swing Society (the dance club, not the band).

What do you think of the music video with Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers? Tell me.

"Anything goes" at Grand

You can see the musical Anything Goes at Grand tonight and on Sunday. The poster above has all the details.

Anything Goes was first performed in 1934 and the musical has music and lyrics by Cole Porter and is based on a book by P.G. Wodehouse (who also wrote the books about Jeeves and Wooster).

Some famous jazz songs from this musical is played at swing dances now and then: Anything Goes (of course) and I Get A Kick Out Of You. One Broadway version included the song Lets Misbehave.

Have you seen "Anything goes" at Grand? What do you think of it? Tell me.

Canal Street Syncopators at Grand Swing Party

Tonight there is a Grand Swing Party night at Grand in Uppsala. On stage is the band Canal Street Syncopators which plays great swing music in a 1930's style.

The evening starts at 20 with dj music and the band takes the stage at 21 and plays until 24 when it's time for me to dj a set until 01. Tell me if you'd like to hear some special song and I'll try to include it in the set.

I'll be part of the crew who sets up and tears down the sound equipment. We could always need some help. If you are interested in learning more about sound and light, talk to me and we'll make you an apprentice.

The entrance fee is 80 kr. I hope to see you there!

The photo of Canal Street Syncopators is taken by me at the dance picnic in August. Contact me if you want to licence it.

Will you dance tonight? Have you heard Canal Street Syncopators before? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing at Grand: Photos

The band Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing played last Saturday at Grand when Swingkatten arranged a night of swing dancing.

Hasse Ling has been playing for dancers a long time in the Stockholm area. The band is solid and really knows what dancers like. You know you'll have a good dancing night when they are playing.



After hearing them so many times I really should know the names of the band members, but I don't. I'm sorry. Please let me know and I'll add their names ASAP.



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



Were you at the swing dance at Grand? What do you think of Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing? Tell me.

Palladium at Grand: Concert photos

Last Saturday, the big band Palladium played at Grand Swing Night in Uppsala at a dance arranged by Swingkatten. The band plays swing but is also very influenced by jump blues.



It was a very good night and I had fun dancing both lindy and balboa. A few couples also danced foxtrot. Folks, remember that foxtrot can be a good dance to do if a really fast song comes along and you don't want to lindy hop to it but you don't know balboa. Foxtrot is also great for slow songs.



When I took a small break to cool down I photographed the band and the dancers (surprise! not.). I know people see me photograph a lot and wonder where the pictures all end up. Well, some of them make it to this blog and some of them I send directly to the people in them. If you think you might have been in front of my camera lens, send me an email and ask me. I'm still looking for a good way to share more photos.

I'm also selling and licencing my photographs, I might have the picture for you in my archive.

If you like my style you can hire me for a photo shoot. Although I mostly show jazz concert pictures here, I photograph all kinds of things, but I prefer to photograph people.



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

Were you at Grand Swing Night with Palladium? What did you think of the band? Tell me.

Palladium plays at Grand Swing Party

On Saturday Feb 23rd the big band Palladium here from Uppsala will play at Grand Swing Party.

Grand Swing Party is Swingkatten's big swing dance nights at Grand that we have about 6 times a year. We always try to have a live band.

Palladium played for us last time at Kulturnatten (The Culture Night) in September last year and it's good to have them back.

The photo above shows the band leader of Palladium, Mikael Jansson.

So come and dance on Saturday at Grand. It starts at 20 with a dj, the band starts at 21 and plays until midnight then you can hear me djing the late shift after the band until it's time to say "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here".

The price is 80 kr. I'll see you on Saturday!

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Will you attend Grand Swing Party with Palladium? Is there any song you want me to dj? Tell me.

Ellen Arkbro Kvartett at Uppsala Winter Camp

Last Friday night the Ellen Arkbro Kvartett played at Uppsala Winter Camp. The quartet has won a national Swedish jazz contest for young musicians. The band played jazz standards with a modern style.



Ellen Arkbro kvartett consists of Ellen Arkbro (song), Kasper Agnas (guitar), Björn Lindberg (bass) and Konrad Agnas (drums).



The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license them.
Were you at the Friday night dance at Uppsala Winter Camp? What did you think of the Ellen Arkbro kvartett? Tell me.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers: Music video shoot

Last Sunday Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers shot a music video at Grand. Along with the band there were a lot of dancers from Swingkatten dressed up in the style of the 1940's and 1950's.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers is a rhythm & blues band from Uppsala that also plays jump blues. They are collecting material for their second album that hopefully will be out sometime next year.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers will play tonight at Pub 19 in Uppsala at 21 o'clock. If you have the opportunity, you should see them.

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Have you seen or heard Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers before? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Diffraktionsbandet at Grand tonight

Tonight it's time for swing dancing at Grand! Live on stage is Diffraktionsbandet, a band from Uppsala. Come and dance from 20 to midnight, the band starts at 21. Entrance fee: 80 kr.

Grand is located at Trädgårdsgatan 5 in Uppsala. Also, remember, all you jazz fans in Uppsala, you don't have to dance if you want to (you can just listen) but you'll have a hard time resisting to join the crowd on the floor.

Welcome!

Cats corner: How to get a swing venue in 15 min

Yesterday our new weekly swing club Cats Corner was supposed to start at Uplands nation at 20. At 18:50, I got a call that the venue for some reason was double booked this time. I remembered the advice from the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy: Don't Panic.

I rushed directly downtown and was lucky enough to book Grand, another venue that we frequently use, within 15 min from the first phone call. How's that for working fast?

Fortunately a lot of people found their way to Grand and we had a nice swingin' evening with Jonas Petterson as our swing jockey. Since he sometimes play fast music and not everybody are able to lindy hop to tempos like 240 BPM, he reminded everybody that they could dance to half time tempo (120 BPM) and then it should be a nice comfortable song.

Next week we will be back at Uplands nation. And we can have another premiere! Yay!

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

Were you there? What did you think of the evening? Tell me.

Grand Swing Party tonight

Don't miss Grand Swing Party tonight!

Four swing djs: Emelie, Trina, Patrik and Henrik (Thats me!) will entertain you with the best swing music. Dance lindy hop, balboa, foxtrot or whatever the music tells you to do.

I got some new great music that I'm exited to play for you.

Entrance fee 50 kr (30 kr if you're dressed in white tie attire for the spring ball).
Grand is located at Trädgårdsgatan 5, Uppsala. Time: 20-01.

Welcome!

If you got any requests what you'd like me to play, tell me.

The photo is taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want licence the photo.

Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing

Tomorrow Saturday 21st, Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing will play at a dance at Grand in Uppsala arranged by Swingkatten.

Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing is a very good band and cares for the dancers. If you're in town you should go there and dance or listen to them.

The dance will start at 20 and the band will be on stage at approx. 21. Entrance fee: 80 kr.

The photo of Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing is taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission. The photo is taken at Uppsala Balboa Weekend in 2004.

Have you heard Hasse Ling and His Syncopators of Swing play before? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Grand Swing Party Tonight

Don't miss Grand Swing Party tonight!

Roger Nordling Swing Kvartett will play from 8 o'clock. Lots of dancing, lots of nice people, lots of everything good.

Entrance fee 80 kr (40 kr if you're under 18).
Grand is located at Trädgårdsgatan 5, Uppsala.

Let the good times roll!

Upcoming: Grand Swing Party Saturday March 10th

I just want to give you a heads-up on a upcoming event: Grand Swing Party. Grand Swing Party is a swing dance evening that our swing dance society Swingkatten arranges a couple times a semester.

On Saturday 10th, Roger Nordling Swing Kvartett will play at Grand. Roger Nordling is a talented saxofone player from Uppsala who has put together a quartet that will play at the dance. In the quartet are: Johan Stålgren (drums), Mattias Åström (bass) and Kalle Sjölin (piano).

Entrance fee: 80 kr (40 if you're under 18 years old).
Where: Grand, Trädgårdsgatan 5, Uppsala
When: Saturday March 10th, 20-01

Maybe I will dj a little bit then but mostly I will be the sound technician of the evening.

Be there!