Birthday coming up

My birthday is in middle of next week, it would be fun to receive some birthday cards. If you like the blog, send a card to "Henrik Eriksson, Svartbäcksgatan 80A, 75335 Uppsala, SWEDEN".

If you feel like it, I wouldn't mind getting some good swing music from your local band or a mix cd. I have a some other stuff on my wishlist as well.

Cyd Charisse - Frankie and Johnny

Recently the great dancer Cyd Charisse passed away. Cyd Charisse was one of the stars in the era of movie musicals in the 1940's and 1950's. Read her obituary in NY Times.

Here is a video clip from the film Meet Me In Las Vegas from 1956 where Cyd Charisse dances to the song Frankie and Johnny sung by Sammy Davis Jr.

I love the precision and quality in the dancers movements. What a great choreography. It's credited to Hermes Pan according to the Internet Movie Database (but the poster on Youtube says Eugene Loring).

Last summer I posted a clip where Cyd Charisse dances in the film Party Girl.

What do you think of the dance scene with Cyd Charisse? Please comment.

Shimmy Like My Sister Kate: The Ditty Bops

"(I wish I could) Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" is a song that was written as early as 1915 by the violin player Armand J. Piron. Above is a video clip with a collage of people dancing to "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate". The music is done by the group The Ditty Bops.

This shows that music has an enormous power, it can make you do all sorts of wacky dance moves. I call the phenomenon: "The music made me do it".

What do you think of the Ditty Bops version? What is your favorite version of Shimmy Like My Sister Kate? Please comment.

Claes Jansson and Nina Rydberg + Teamwork Big Band: Photos

Here are a couple of photos from yesterdays concert at Parksnäckan. A solid performance by the vocalists Claes Jansson and Nina Rydberg and the Teamwork Big Band.



What do you think of the concert with Claes Jansson and Nina Rydberg + Teamwork Big Band? Please comment.

The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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

Teamwork Big Band in Parksnäckan tonight

Tonight the Teamwork Big Band featuring Claes Janson and Nina Rydberg will play at Parksnäckan.

The concert will celebrate the life of Povel Ramel, a Swedish entertainer and comedian who sometimes used jazz songs.

The concert starts at 19:30 and costs 90 kr (70 if you got a UNT-card).

I took the photo above of saxophone player Madeleine Tråvén at a Grand Swing Party night last December when Swingkatten arranged a dance night. Since there will other vocalists tonight I don't think that the singer in December, the very good Susanne Ottebring, will be there. Therefor I'll post a photo of her below.


What do you think of Teamwork Big Band? Please comment.

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

Parksnäckan: Summer jazz in Uppsala

There are plenty of jazz concerts this summer in Parksnäckan, the outdoor stage in the City Garden of Uppsala.

The jazz concerts are arranged by jazz promotor Björn Sjödin. The concerts will start at 19:30 and cost 90 kr (70 if you got a UNT-card).

Here is the list of summer concerts:

July 3: Teamwork Big Band featuring Claes Janson and Nina Rydberg.
The concert will celebrate the life of Povel Ramel, a Swedish entertainer and comedian who sometimes used jazz songs.

July 24: Svenska Showorkestern Phontrattarne
Here is another chance to see their Grand show that they produce each year. Phontrattarne is a really good swinging orchestra combined with lots of humour.

July 31: Lars Erstrand Four
Lars Erstrand Four is a swinging quartet consisting of Lars Erstrand (vibraphone), Bertil Fernqvist (guitar), Arne Wilhelmsson (bass) and Björn Sjödin (drums).

Aug 12: STARDUST by Peter Lind and the Cabaret Band
A musical cabaret with stories and anecdotes about Harlem, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Hoagy Carmichael and the other great stars of the swing era.

Aug 19: Solskensorkestern
A big band that doesn't play jazz but other old time music from the 1930-1940s, a musical style that in Sweden is called schlager.

Aug 21: Good Morning Blues
The oldest blues band in town (41 years!), Good Morning Blues, does their traditional summer performance in Parksnäckan. The band consists of Claes Janson, Bosse Broberg, John Högman, Anders Johansson, Jan Wärngren, Thomas Lindroth and Björn Sjödin.

What do you think of these summer jazz concerts in Uppsala? Which ones would you like to attend? Please comment.

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

Hey Mr Jesse: July edition

The July episode of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse is just released. Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where Jesse Miner and Manu Smith talks about swingin' music that matters to dancers.

I haven't listened to it yet but you can see what is in the show by looking at the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse June 2008. I'll post more comments about the podcast later on when I've listened to it. Enjoy!

Download July 2008 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

My monthly tips to the show hosts:

Hi Mr Jesse. Hi Manu!

Wow. The June podcast was stuffed with great swing music. :)

Here are some swinging tunes for July:

It's hard to pick songs that are new to you but I try to find good albums that I haven't seen been mentioned elsewhere and that deserve to be presented to the swing music community.

First out is the yet another female vocal group called "Sister Swing" from Sacramento, CA. They have produced several albums and I can recommend "Riff Raff and Ruffles", "Going Nowhere Fast" and "New Shoes and Old Bags".

You can listen to sound clips on their website http://www.sisterswing.com/ I like their version of Tuxedo Junction.

Second tip: It's time for some jump blues again. I'd like to recommend "Jimmy Sapienza's Five Guys Named Moe" and their album "Jitterbuggin'".

They are a jazzy jump blues band from Pittsburgh, PA. Three of the band members are blind. No sheet music here. As you can guess from their name, they have a lot of Louis Jordan songs on the album: Caldonia, I Want A Roof Over My Head and Choo-Choo Ch' Boogie. On the album there are also songs written by Jimmy Sapienza himself.

If I have to pick a song from the album, I probably choose "Short Brunettes". (Who wouldn't?! ;-))

Bonus tips: I'm a sucker for good vocal stuff. I always smile when I hear Bunny Briggs' scat version of "Rockin' in Rhythm" from the album "Scat Singing - The Art of Vocal Jazz".
Bunny Briggs is also a dancer and was inducted into The Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2006 by the American Tap Dance Foundation.

The song is recorded in New York, November 30, 1947 by Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra : James Campbell, Joe Graves, Jimmy Nottingham, Doc Severinsen, Clark Terry (tp) Walt Benson, Porky Cohen, Fred Zito (tb) Charlie Barnet (as,sop,ts) Walter Weidler, Wolfgang Weidler (as) Kurt Bloom, Bud Shank (ts) Bob Dawes (bar) Claude Williamson (p) unknown (g) Don Totsi (b) Dick Shanahan (d) Bunny Briggs (vcl) Billy May (arr).

Some more record details: 3198-2D1 Rockin' in rhythm (bb vcl,bm arr) Apollo 1106, Clef MGC165, Verve MGV2007, 2317060, Ajaz 217

Read what I've written before about Hey Mr Jesse.

Remember, if you like you can become a fan of the Swing, jazz and blues blog on Facebook.

What do you think of the July edition of the Hey Mr Jesse podcast? Please comment.