Bright lights late nights - The Speakeasies' Swing Band

I really like my newest discovery: The Speakeasies' Swing Band from Greece.Here they perform their own song Bright lights late nights.

What do you think of The Speakeasies' Swing Band? Please comment.

Swing Cats Jamboree - Louis Prima

Check out this great short film, Swing Cats Jamboree, where Louie Prima and his band performs 3-4 songs. There are also some dance in the video clip, for example a tap version of shim sham.

Do you perhaps know who the dancers and/or muscians are? Tell me.

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

The happiest dj on earth

I found this fantastic video clip of a dj grooving to the music he is playing. I also get a little bit animated when I dj, maybe not as much as him but still. When you find music that moves you, you can sit still. This is true for all kinds of dance music.

This is a perfect example of what I call: The music made me do it.

What do you think of the video clip with the happiest dj on earth? Please comment.

Black Coffee: Careless Lovers

Do you ever wonder why swing music makes you want to dance? Could it be that infectious rhythm or could it be some else? Something completely different that makes you jitter and do strange moves. Like coffee? Black Coffee? Oh yes.

Check out this wonderful video with the band The Careless Lovers, a band made up of swing dancing musicians from the coffee loving city of Seattle.

The 2011 Swing/Jazz Dance Music Video Contest.

Another great version of Black Coffee is by the band Six Swingers.

What do you think of the video Black Coffee with the Careless Lovers? Please comment.

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"Gentlemen in Squalor" by Top Shelf Jazz

The band Top Shelf Jazz has released a video of their song "Gentlemen in Squalor". The video has a great vintage feel and some swing dancers in it. Check it out.


"Gentlemen in Squalor" Top Shelf Jazz Directed by Alex Sufit from Lexitricity on Vimeo.

What do you think of the video with Top Shelf Jazz? Please comment.

The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America

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.

Deedles Blues with Diane Schuur and the P R Heineken Big Band

Diane Schuur does a great version of Deedles Blues together with the P R Heineken Big Band .

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

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.

Mr Kelly - Sarah Dawn Finer & Putte Wickman

A friend of mine, Miss L, recently performed the song, Mr Kelly, so I looked for other versions of it online and found this one sung by Sarah Dawn Finer and you can also spot Putte Wickman playing clarinet.

This fits perfectly into my mood as I prepare for a blues dance workshop in Stockholm this weekend. I don't know if I would dance blues to this song but I like the blue feeling it has.

One thing that surprised me was that Mr Kelly was written by a local musician here in Uppsala: Owe Thörnqvist. He is mostly known for other kinds of musical styles, so this was a nice surpice.

What do you think of Mr Kelly sung by Sarah Dawn Finer? Please comment.

Martha Tilton - "A Little Jive Is Good For You"

Martha Tilton sings in this soundie from 1941 called "A Little Jive Is Good For You".  The soundie is set in the waiting room outside a doctors office with the hilarious Slate Brothers as patients. The music is by Ben Pollack and His Orchestra.

What do you think of Martha Tilton singing "A Little Jive Is Good For You" ? Please comment.

RAGGMOPP - The Treniers

It's time for some rhythm & blues. Here is one of the classic rhythm & blues songs: RAGGMOPP performed by The Treniers.

What do you think of The Treniers singing RAGGMOPP? Please comment.

Peggy Lee: I Can't Give You Anything But Love

I love artists that have a good time when they perform. Here is Peggy Lee singing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" together with Dean Martin and Jack Jones.

They seem to have a great chemistry together. You can't but smile when you see them.

What do you think of Peggy Lee and Dean Martin? Please comment.

Rose Murphy - Busy Line

Rose Murphy had a very special voice and she had a habit of inserting her catch phrase "chi-chi" into songs, that's why she got known as the as the "chi-chi girl".

In this video clip she sings the song "Busy line". If you want to hear her actually singing her trademark phrase "chi-chi" you should check out her version of "I can't give you anything but love".

What do you think of Rose Murphy singing Busy Line? Please comment.

On Revival Day - Terra Hazelton

I always liked the gospel inspired song "On Revival Day", the most played version of the song on swing dance floors is by La Vern Baker.

However, I found a great version of "On revival day" in a video clip done by the Canadian singer Terra Hazelton. I like the way she does the "blues shouting".

Listen to more of Terra Hazelton on her MySpace page.

What do you think of Terra Hazelton? Please comment.

Hey Mr Jesse October 2009

The October show of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse has been released.

Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where the swing djs Jesse Miner and Manu 'Spuds' Smith talk about swingin' music that matters to dancers.

Download the October 2009 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

Read the October show notes to see what's in the podcast.

Here is my contribution to the show:

Hi Jesse! Hi Manu!

Here is some swingin' tips for October.

In the ongoing series "1001 ways to find swing music", here is item number 154: "Inspiring video clips from competitions"

In the big dance competions the best performers seek out music that inspire them to create new steps and showcase their musicality. Often those tunes work very well for the social dance floor as well.

Here is two recent examples from International Lindy Hop Championship, ILHC 2009:



1) Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl dancing to "Jump Through the Window" with Roy Eldridge.

Frida & Skye really use their musicality to showcase all the accents in the music.

2) Evita Arce and Nathan Bugh dancing to "That's how rhythm was born" by the Boswell Sisters.

This clip instantly gets you in a good mood. How can you avoid being smitten by Evita's bubbly jazz age charm? Impossible!



Last thing: A tip for swing dj's

I know by experience that sometimes it can be hard to ask new people to dance. If you're an experienced dancer you might be busy dancing with the people you already know or if you're a newcomer it's difficult to get the courage to ask the "really good dancers".

If I'm djing a 3 hour set I usally get on the microphone after 2 hours and say "Those of you who would like to, please dance the next song with someone you haven't dance with before". Those who don't want to do it, they simple does whatever they like.

If everybody on the dancefloor does this, well, then 100 people have gotten a new dance acquaintance.

What do you think of Hey Mr Jesse October 2009 podcast? Please comment.

Nagasaki - Alice Mei & Thomas Blacharz

Alice Mei & Thomas Blacharz have great musicality when they dance to the song Nagasaki at the International Lindy Hop Championships 2009.

I don't know for sure which artist performs the song, but it sounds like Wingy Manone to me. Do you know?

Update: justafish provided me with the correct artist: Putney Dandridge.

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

Beyonce vs Duke Ellington

What do you get when you mix Duke Ellington with Beyonce Knowles and all the single ladies? You get this. Brilliant mashup.

(Via Peter Loggins and Miss S)

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

Linda Hopkins & BB King - Every Day I Have the Blues

"Every Day I Have the Blues" is a classic blues song. This version with a duet between Linda Hopkins and BB King must be one of the best versions I heard. Ever. So much energy!

What do you think of Linda Hopkins and BB King singing "Every Day I Have the Blues"? Please comment.

Betty Hutton - "Murder, He Says"

Jive talk was the slang language of the 1930's and 1940's. Here is video clip with some of the expressions from the swing era.

Betty Hutton sings the song "Murder, He Says" in which she is rather annoyed with the way her lover speaks when they get into an intimate situation.

According to the YouTube poster this clip is from "November 1943 for the Armed Forces Radio Service show "Command Performance" (episode 92)". I suspect that this video clip appeared in the movie Strictly G.I.

Films like Strictly G.I. were made to boost the morale for the American troupes in World War II.

What do you think of Betty Hutton belting out "Murder, He Says"? Please comment.

Movits! - Fel del av gården

Lately I've been listening a lot to the Swedish hip hop /jazz group Movits!. I discovered them a couple of months ago but now they have become really popular.

Right now, Movits! album Äppelknyckarjazz is the most popular album on the Amazon.com Top MP3 Albums in Rap & Hip-Hop, before artists like Eminem, Jay-Z and Mos Def, how about that!

Movits! combines rap/hip hop with gypsy jazz and balkan rhythms. In the video clip with the song "Fel del av gården" (The Wrong Part of the Yard) you can also see dancing by the Swedish swing dance troupe The Harlem Hot Shots.

Movits! got a lot of attention when they were interviewed on the tv program The Colbert Report last week where they performed the song "Fel del av gården". In the interview they say that they were inspired to add a swing touch to their music when they heard the swing song "Sing, Sing Sing".

Do you like the music but don't know what the heck Movits! are rapping about? Here is the lyrics for Movits! song "Fel del av gården".

From a swing music point of view I like that one of the songs on the album, "Stick iväg Jack, del II" tells story about what happend after "Hit The Road, Jack".

Regarding the the name of Movits! album, Äppelknyckarjazz; "Äppelknyckare" refers to a certain kind of pants that were popular in the 1930's and 1940's. I would translate "Äppelknyckare" as "apple nickers".

The name comes from the fact that the legs of the trousers ended just below the knee and the legs could be tightened, so if you were a young rascal nicking apples from the neighbour's garden you could put all the apples inside the pants and you could run away with ease if you were discovered. Here is a photo of äppelknyckare.

In Sweden 'äppelknyckare' is very much associated with the swing era.

What do you think of Movits! and the music video for "Fel sida av gården"? Please comment.