World Swing DJ Championships

Last Friday it was time for the World Swing DJ Championships which took place at the dance camp Goodnight Sweetheart in Great Britain. The competition is judged by the dancers at the event.
They are instructed to look for the following in the DJs:

1. Creativity
   - Music selection and interaction of various styles, era's etc.
2. Stage Presence
   - Appearance, self-confidence, showmanship & sportsmanship
3. Dance-ability
   - Does the music keep the dancers " a boppin'' or " a stoppin"

It would be fun to participate. I think a little competitiveness can make the djs pull out their best stuff. But performing well in a competition means just that, you're good at competing, it's different from djing a whole night. Still, both formats are about entertaining, making sure that the dancers and the listeners have a good time enjoying themselves. That doesn't change even if the format changes. You've got to entertain.

This year there were swing disc jockeys from USA, UK, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Norway, Belgium and France. The winner was Jamie from the UK.

Maybe I'll be there next year?

Goodnight Sweetheart is organised by the fantastic couple Joseph Sewell and Trisha Purville at jiveswing.com.

Hey Mr Jesse February Podcast

A while ago I wrote about the Hey Mr Jesse Podcast Show where Jesse Miner and Manu Smith talks about swing music.

Now a new podcast for February is available.

They interview Barbara Morrison and also list some songs for Valentines day (as I did a couple of days ago). The songs they list are a little bit on the naughty and risque side.

When I dj I sometimes slip a song like that into the mix just to see if people are listening to the lyrics. You can see in the dancers and the listeners eyes and and in their smiles (or blushes) if they have understood what the song is really about.

Read the notes from the podcast show to see all the contents of the show.

Jesse and Manu were very kind to mention this blog and also tried to figure out the right pronunciation of "Uppsala". If you are reading this; You got it right, of course with an American accent but close enough.

What is your favorite risque swing/blues song? Tell me.

Mia Goldsmith and Marty Klempner at Sweden Balboa Weekend

In September 2006 Sweden Balboa Weekend took place in Uppsala. It was an all balboa camp and we had invited some of the best balboa instructors and dancers in the world: Valerie Salstrom & Marty Klempner and Mia Goldsmith and Yoshi Uemura.

At the Friday night party we arranged an Invitational Jack'n'Jill-competition, where all the instructors participated. Here is a video clip of Mia & Marty dancing incredibly smooth balboa. I'm going to steal some of these moves!



The video clip is posted on Youtube by Mia's dance partner Peter Loggins, he has posted a ton of good dance clips. Don't open that link while you are at work (you will get stuck), unless your work is to archive dance material, that is.

The music they are dancing to is "Taps Miller" by Count Basie (Columbia, 1944) available in the collection "America's #1 Band: The Columbia Years" (cd 3, track 12).

What do you think of this video clip? Tell me.

10 swing songs for Valentines day

Tomorrow is Valentines day so here is some tips on swing and jazz songs that will put you in to a romantic mood.

1. Lets do it by Billie Holiday
2. Peel me a grape by Diana Krall
3. Love me or leave me by Sammy Davis Jr
4. They cant take away from me by Frank Sinatra
5. L-o-v-e by Natalie Cole
6. Somebody loves me by Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra
7. I love being here with you by Barbara Morrison
8. My Funny Valentine by Chet Baker
9. Deed I do by Ella Fitzgerald
10. As long as I live by Ernestine Anderson

What is your favorite swing song about love? Tell me.

Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop

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.

Karl Olandersson Quartet at Katalin

Karl Olandersson Quartet played at a concert at Katalin and all that jazz in Uppsala. This was the first concert for the season arranged by Uppsala Jazz Club.

The quartet consists of Karl Olandersson (trumpet and song), Mathias Algotsson (piano), Clas Lassbo (bass) and Mattias Puttonen (drums).

Karl Olandersson reminds a lot of Chet Baker because he is a young talented trumpet player that plays cool jazz. I guess he must hear that all the time (but hey, he looks like Chet Baker as well). Anyone would like to play trumpet like this guy. Great phrasing!

The songs where kind of cool jazz, most of them in a laid back style but still swinging thanks to the rhythm section. They played a couple of blues songs that were a little bit more uptempo. I really liked the way Mathias Algotsson played the piano.

They played their own versions of Caravan and Stardust.

By popular demand Karl Olandersson sang in the extra number "This is the end of a beautiful friendship" even though he said his throat was a little bit sore. Great execution of that song. All in all, a very good concert.

All photos are taken by me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

Where you at the concert? What did you think?

Definition of jazz standards

What is a jazz standard? One definition is:

A "jazz standard" is a composition that is held in continuing esteem and is commonly used as the basis of jazz arrangements or improvisations.

A fantastic place to learn more about jazz standards is http://www.jazzstandards.com/.
There you can learn all about:

• the composers who wrote the jazz standard
• the writer of lyrics
• the history behind the song
• how the melody is built musically with chord progressions
• cds where you can find this particular jazz standard
• biographies of composers and performers

What is your favorite jazz standard? Tell me.