Sweet (?) Georgia Brown - Cabin In The Sky

Yesterday I saw the film Cabin in the sky where Lena Horne plays the character Georgia Brown. Usually you hear about the Sweet Georgia Brown but here she was trying to steal away Joe from his wife. Lena Horne certainly was an 'it' girl.



One really great version of Sweet Georgia Brown is done by Ella Fitzgerald on the album A Perfect Match together with Count Basie and his band.



Ethel Waters who plays the wife in the movie also has recorded some versions of Sweet Georgia Brown.

Duke Ellington and his band is featured in this film in a scene where you also can see several types of dance: (original) jazz dance, some lindy hop and even some shag.

Louis Armstrong also has a very small role in the film.

Jump by Casey MacGill & The Spirits of Rhythm

Jump by Casey MacGill & The Spirits of Rhythm is a modern classic that I think you should know of. The cd has a lot of songs with high energy as well as some bluesier songs.

'Jump' seems to be hard to get nowadays and is out of stock at most online stores, if you have happen to stumble upon it, don't hesitate, buy the cd.

The song 'Whadaya Want' was earlier done by a group called The Robins and you can compare the versions by checking out the cd ''Leiber & Stoller Present the Spark Records Story'. (You can find it at the Uppsala City Library)

If you read the previous posts, you might wonder why I choose this particular swing cd. Well, I choose the cd because it has red and yellow on the front of the jewel case just like the Anita O'day cd. Hey, anything is allowed ;-).

How to find the next jazz cd to blog about

Last post was all about how to choose the next song. That applies as well to posting on a blog. What should come next? What fits well? How can I keep the flow?

What is the perfect next post? Stay tuned...

How do swingdjs find the next song to play?

A dj always thinks: What would be a perfect song to play after this one? I always get some association between the songs.

Often the songs are played in the same style of swing, for example if it is played by a big band I'll continue with another song played by a big band. Other styles may be Kansas city style or a soft style like Oscar Peterson trio.

Other times it is an instrument that gets my attention, "Yeah, the trumpet is this song is sooo cool, lets have more trumpets". So I maybe transition from Louis Armstrong to Harry James.

It can also be a musician, lets say I just played a song with Gene Krupa, I know he also played with Benny Goodman, so then I play a song with one of Benny Goodmans small groups.

Swing music tips or reviews

Right now, when I'm just beginning this blog, I'm just going to give you tips about great swing and jazz cds and not full-scale reviews since that takes a lot more work. I think you are smart enough to decide for yourself if the music swings or not. Just click the links and see for yourself.

Later on I might revisit some blog posts and write a more indepth review of a cd, book or song or whatever.

Enjoy!

swingdjs.com

swingdjs.com is one of the best resources if you have a question about swing music. Swingdjs.com is a forum where many swingjockeys from all the world meet.

They talk mostly about the music itself but also how they dj and what equipment they use. If you are a swing discjockey or want to become one, this is the place for you.

Anita O´day: Let me off uptown

Cd review

Swing music tip of the day: Anita O´day: Let me off uptown

This is a great swing cd with the best of singer Anita O'day. All of the songs are with Gene Krupa and his orchestra.

Here are classics as 'Opus one', 'Boogie blues' and 'Massachusetts' and of course one of my favorites 'Let me off uptown' where Anita sings a duet with trumpeter Roy Eldridge.