Jumpin' at the Woodside: Antti Sarpila

Jumpin' at the Woodside is a classic swing song by Count Basie. It has a fast tempo and has often been used as music for lindy hop jam circles.

Above is a version from Bern Jazz Festival 1988 where Antti Sarpila and Christian Plattners duels with their saxophones. I've had the pleasure of listening to Antti Sarpila a couple of times. If he is in your town, go and hear him play.

What do you think of Jumpin' at the Woodside with Antti Sarpila? 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.

Dancin' The Boogie - Silvan Zingg, Will & Maéva

I always enjoy a good boogie woogie song and here is one: "Dancin' The Boogie", written and performed by Silvan Zingg from Switzerland. The couple who dances boogie woogie is William Mauvais and Maéva Truntzer.

I love the footwork that the boogie woogie dancers do, it looks so darn cool. Maybe one day I learn how to dance boogie woogie as well. My local dance society, Swingkatten, offer boogie woogie courses, so you never know...

Silvan Zingg organizes a large Boogie Woogie Festival each year.

Learn more about boogie woogie as a music style.

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

Red Hot Rhythmakers

I got an email from Trevor Hutchison, a fellow Swing DJ from Perth, Australia telling us Swedes to check out one of his favorite Australian swing bands: Red Hot Rhythmakers which is on tour in Sweden right now.

Red Hot Rhythmakers plays swing from the early 1930's. They seem to be a very good band.

They will play at June 12th at Stampen and June 13th and 14th at Askersund Jazz Festival. Take a look at the calendar for all the details.

I don't know if I'll make it to the concert, but if you do, please comment what they were like.

Rosenberg Trio - It Don't Mean a Thing

Let's jump start this week with lightning fast gypsy jazz version of "It Don't Mean a Thing (If You Ain't Got That Swing)" performed by the Rosenberg Trio at Jazz Festival of Django Reinhardt.



The Rosenberg trio consists of Stochelo Rosenberg, Nous'che Rosenberg and Nonnie Rosenberg.

What do you think of this version of "It Don't Mean a Thing (If You Ain't Got That Swing)" played by the Rosenberg Trio? Tell me.

Brazz Brothers: Photos: Uppsala Winter Swing

Brazz Brothers, a Norwegian brass band, played at the jazz festival Uppsala Winter Swing in January. Since it's Sunday I took the opportunity to dig through my jazz photo archive to find some pictures of them.

Brazz Brothers consists of two sets of brothers, first Helge Førde (trombone) and his twin Jarle Førde (trumpet/flugelhorn) and the third brother: Jan Magne Førde (trumpet/flugelhorn). The other pair of brothers are Runar Tafjord (french horn) and Stein Erik Tafjord (tuba). The last person in the band is Marcus Lewin (drums/percussion), he might also have brothers but they are not playing in the band.



Brazz brothers mixes traditional jazz and fusion jazz. At the concert they showed some of their African influences in the song "African Marketplace". They also pay attention to their Norwegian roots and have just released a cd called Vågåblot where they mix in traditional norwegian folk music.

All brass players in the band are also trained in classical music and they played a really great (grejt!) piece called "Domen" (The Cathedral) which made the whole room feel like you were in a cathedral. Speaking of cathedrals, Brazz brother will be back in Uppsala this fall to give a concert together with Orphei Drängar, one of the best men choirs in the world. If you have the opportunity, see them in the Uppsala cathedral September 29th.



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

Have you heard Brazz brothers? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Playboy Jazz Festival 2007

This weekend The Playboy Jazz Festival will be held at the Hollywood bowl where you can see artists like The World Famous Count Basie Orchestra, Dianne Reeves, Etta James and the Roots Band and many more jazz and blues artists.

It would be so much fun to go to Hollywood to attend this, make some interviews, take photos of the legends and report back to you, but it won't happen this year, so:

"Mr Hefner, if you would like me to dj an after hours swing and blues party at the Playboy mansion next year, send me some plane tickets and I'll be there!"

I'm going to see if I can listen to the jazz concerts from the festival on the radio station KJAZZ instead. KJAZZ seems to be a really good jazz and blues radion station.

Are you going to the Playboy Jazz Festival? Have you been there? Tell me.

Swing Mon Amour at Uppsala Winter Swing

Swing Mon Amour played at Uppsala Winter Swing jazz festival in January. They play jazz in a Django Reinhardt kind of style.

I liked their versions of Minor Swing and Stompin' at the Savoy.

Hampus Andersson and Anton Svanberg plays the guitar while Gustaf Gunér plays bass.

Does anyone know if they have a website? Tell me if they have one and I'll link there.

The photo is taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

Did you see Swing Mon Amour at Uppsala Winter Swing? What did you think of them? Tell me.

Laurence Allison at Uppsala Winter Swing

Yesterdays jazz festival, Uppsala Winter Swing, was so much fun. An overdose of jazz was just right. Thanks to the organizers I had the opportunity to photograph many of the musicians. Thank you, Björn Sjödin!

There's a lot to tell but for now I'll have to gather my thoughts and sort through all the pictures. Expect more stories and photos in the coming week.

Here is a picture of Laurence Allison, a great singer from France. The photo is taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

Where you at Uppsala Winter Swing? What was you favorite moment? Tell me.

Uppsala Winter Swing 2007

Tomorrow the jazz festival Uppsala Winter Swing will take place. It features 12 hours of jazz, 18 bands and over 200 musicians. It's estimated that approx. 1300 people will attend the event.

List of bands at Uppsala Winter Swing.

I will be there listening, dancing and taking a lot of photographs and I'm planning to give you some reviews of Uppsala Winter Swing next week.

If you want to attend it's not too late to get a ticket, you can buy them at UNT City or at the door, 380 kr. If you only can attend in the evening you get a discount after 20 o'clock: 200 kr (160 kr if you have a UNT-card).

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. If you're going there, come up to me and chat a little, maybe tell me what you think of this blog.

Uppsala Winter Swing - Jazz Festival

In a few weeks, on Jan 27th, the annual jazz festival in Uppsala, Uppsala Winter Swing, will take place.

The festival will be from 13 till 01 o'clock and feature 8 big bands and also musicians in smaller groups.

There are so many good musicians coming to Uppsala Winter Swing, so if you like jazz, this is definitely the place to be.

If you want to find out more about the bands, orchestras and musicians just click their name in the list below.

• Brazz brothers
• Remi Toulon
• Laurence Allison
• Sliding Hammers
• Joakim Milder
• Peter Asplund
• Ulf Johansson Werre
• Lars Erstrand
• Bosse Broberg
• Martin Sjöstedt
• Klas Lindquist
• Thomas Arnesen
• Kjell Öhman
• Good Morning Blues
• Trio X
• Swing Delight
• Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band
• Induss & Lagerberg Great Sweet Orchestra
• Rockford
• Solskensorkestern
• Big Swing Face
• Svenska Showorkestern Phontrattarne
• Skrapan Big Band, John Högman, Teamwork big band, Uppsala Storband