Hey Mr Jesse: March 2009

The March show of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse has just 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 March 2009 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

Here is my tip to Jesse and Manu:

"What a surprise with the jingle you made. Thanks :)

Ok, down to business, music tip for March:

Last time you featured a live recording by Benny Goodman, I want to recommend 2 cd set called "Live Swing Sessions 1943 - 1949" with more live sessions with Goodman.

I especially like his version of "Love me or leave me".

I also like "Rattle and roll", The songs starts a little weak but then starts pumping."

They also talked a little about my post about the Folkets Hus Five. You can see the video with the Folkets Hus Five playing "All of me" they talk about above. It was during this song I took the picture of Todd Yannacone. The video is shot by Johannes Schmidt.

Take a look at what else is in the show: read the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse March 2009.

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

Cats' Corner at Gotlands nation

I hope I didn't scare you with the photo above. Sometimes when I'm out taking photos unexpected things like these pop up in front of my lens. Booo! ;)

Yesterday I visited our (almost) weekly dance Cats' Corner. This season we don't have just one but several locations for the dance. This time it was held at Gotlands nation. It was there very first time we had the dance there, so there was some things to figure out how they worked.

Another debut for the night: Agnes Hjelm debuted as a swing dj and I think she played very well. She played both old classics as well as some neo swing.



One especially nice thing about Gotlands nation as a swing venue is that there are some space where people really can sit down and talk while they are not dancing. Oftentimes it's just "dance, dance, dance!" and you never get a chance to chat with people.

One other thing you could do when you're not dancing is to read the old magazines that we have bought. All the magazines are from the 1940s-1950s and it's fun to read what they thought was important to write about then. It's also entertaining to read the advertisements.



The photos are taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission.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

What do you think of Cats Corner at Gotlands nation? Please comment.

Bo Kaspers Orkester: Hon är så söt

Some late night music: "Hon är så söt" (She is so sweet) by Bo Kaspers Orkester.

This song reminds me of Jan Johansson's album, "Jazz på svenska", it has that certain melancholy that I find very Swedish.

What do you think of the song? Please comment.

The Temperance Seven - Everybody Loves My Baby

Here is a video clip with the song Everybody Loves My Baby performed by The Temperance Seven, a seven-piece band from Britain playing popular music and jazz from the 1920s and 30s.

I really like the cinematography of the video clip.

Also check out another version of Everybody Loves My Baby by Red Nichols that I've posted before.

What do you think of The Temperance Seven? Please comment.

Blue Monday: Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra

This afternoon a new concert series will start in Uppsala: Blue Monday at Universitetsaulan.

First out in this attempt by Uppsala University to make mondays more fun is Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra which will play big band classics. The concert starts at 16.45 and lasts an hour. The concert is free of charge. Go there and listen!

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to buy or license it.

What do you think of Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra? Please comment.

Ulf Johansson Werre at Grand: Photos

The band for the Friday night dance at Uppsala Winter Camp was Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra. Ulf Johansson Werre had put together this band with some other professional jazz musicans: Tommy Johnsson (bass), Claes Askelöf (guitar) and Calle Rasmusson (drums).



The great thing about professional musicians such as them is that they often add more "texture" to the music, which the dancers can pick up and play with. If they overdo it, it becomes more "jazzy" than swinging, but as long as you have a good rhythm section you can't go wrong. I think the band had a really good swinging sound all through the night.





In the end of the first set Ulf Johansson Werre looked down at the dance floor where he saw Ida Widberg who also sings in The Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra where Ulf is the musical director.

He invited her onto the stage and she sang All Of Me (if I remember correctly).

Later on there was another guest appearance when Christoffer Alehed joined the band with his trombone for two songs.

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

What do you think of Ulf Johansson Werre Swing Orchestra? Please comment.

Herrang All Stars / Folkets Hus Fem: Photos

I have now recovered from attending the Uppsala Winter Camp, it was a fun experience and in my opinion the best dance camp in Uppsala so far.

One of the things that made this year special was what happend Saturday night. In addition to the big band on the main stage, some of the instructors had decided to put together a band or more exactly to reunite a band from Herräng Dance Camp.

The band is called the Herrang All Stars / Folkets Hus Fem and consists of Peter Loggins (Washboard-Suitcase-Pots and Pans), Mia Goldsmith (vocals and kazoo), Todd Yannacone (guitar), Niklas Eriksson (clarinet) and Christoffer Alehed (trombone). Guest artist this night was Orvar Turegård on piano.



The played songs like: I Found a New Baby, After You've Gone, Aint she sweet (with Sean Hall singing and playing his Uke), Dinah, I Found a new baby, Lady Be Good , Saint Louis Blues. All these songs were recorded and you can listen to the Herrang All Stars / Folkets Hus Fem songs here.



Having one more band made it an awesome experience to walk around Grand and having music played everywhere you went.

Thank you guys for playing. Your performance made the camp very special.



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



What do you think of Herrang All Stars / Folkets Hus Fem? Please comment.