Swing or Nothing!

I recently stumbled upon this group while listening on pandora.com, and after reading their bio on wikipedia and seeing that they were popular in Sweden too, I couldn’t resist mentioning them. From the Wikipedia:

The Deep River Boys were an American Gospel music group active from the mid 1930s to the mid 1950s. The group performed spirituals, Gospel, and R&B. The group consisted of Harry Douglas (baritone), Vernon Gardner (first tenor), George Lawson (second tenor), Jimmy Lundy and Edward Ware (bass). They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, held command performances before the Queen of England (in the 1960s), and US President Dwight D Eisenhower. They also performed with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Charlie Christian and Thelma Carpenter. In Europe they were especially popular in countries like Sweden and Norway from the 1950s and upwards, appearing on numerous TV shows, even releasing several hit-singles performing songs in Swedish and Norwegian. The group continued to tour into the early eighties.

One album that I particularly liked is:

especially the tracks “Lucky Old Sun”, “Lucky Black Cat”, and “Deep Water”.

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Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an American pianist and singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to country music, pop standards. Several songs you’ve heard from the Jelly Roll Souls playing at Cat’s Corner were popularized by Ray Charles, including “I Gotta Woman” and “This Little Girl of Mine.” Here are some collections and albums worth checking out:

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If you liked the music for our Gospel Night at Cat’s Corner, then I’ll bet you’ll enjoy music by Sister Rosetta Tharpe:

From Wikipedia.org:

Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was a pioneering Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock accompaniment. She became the first great recording star of Gospel music in the late 1930s and also became known as the original soul sister of recorded music.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her inspirational music of ‘light’ in the ‘darkness’ of the nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, her witty, idiosyncratic style also left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists, such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the world of pop music, she never left gospel music.

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Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader. His practice of rearranging the works of famous composers like Debussy and Tchaikovsky and adding lyrics was known as “swinging the classics”. His version of Debussy’s “Reverie”, with vocalist Bea Wain, was particularly popular. Clinton also provided conventional arrangements for performers like the Dorsey brothers, Glen Gray, Louis Armstrong, and Bunny Berigan.

I recently went on a Larry Clinton buying binge after hearing the song “Chew Your Bubble Gum.” Clinton’s sound reminds me a lot of Benny Goodman, but I like that his rhythm section has a little bit more of a driving drum beat. Here are some fun tracks you can find on emusic.com:

• Chew Your Bubble Gum
• That’s Good Enough For Me
• Zig Zag
• Missouri Gambler

or on Amazon.com:

Larry Clinton at Amazon.com

Enjoy!

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This past Thursday (March 27, 2008) at the 9:20, San Francisco dancers experienced the classy and powerhouse sound of one of the great contemporary big bands: George Gee and His Jump, Jive & Wailers.

It was an interesting contrast to the sound of the 4- and 5-piece swing combos we are used to dancing to here in SF. The Jivin’ Wailers played a number of tunes from their CD “If Dreams Come True”.

I highly recommend grabbing a copy!

or the MP3 Album:

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Lionel Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. “Hamp” ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who’s who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich to Charlie Parker and Quincy Jones. Tunes like Lavender Coffin and Flying Home are some of his most recognizable swing dance hits and you’ll find them and more on “the Lionel Hampton Story,” a four disc box set on the Proper label.

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Rowland Bernard “Bunny” Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the Swing Era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33. He played with several notable big bands include those led by the Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. His solo on the Dorsey hit “Marie” became considered one of his signature performances. Berigan got the itch to lead his own band full-time and did so for about three years. Some of their records were equal in standard to the sides he cut with Goodman and Dorsey, but unfortunately they were never financially successful.

Fortunately for us, Bunny Berigan’s recordings still survive, and you can pick up some great tracks at Amazon.com mp3 downloads including some of my personal favorites off the Gangbusters album:

• Walking the Dog
• Button, Button
• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
• Organ Grinder’s Swing

If you have any recordings of Benny Goodman in your own collection, I encourage you to listen to both of these artists back-to-back and notice some of the similarities in their musical styles.

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Believe it or not, I was initially unimpressed by Duke Ellington when I first started collecting swing music; since then, I’ve learned the error of my ways. The Duke had such a long music career that spanned decades and many genres of jazz music, that, well, some of his music actually isn’t swing dance music…it’s Hot Jazz, Be-Bop or something else. But the stuff that swings…swings hard.

Edward “Duke” Ellington was an American pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He started playing music in Washington, D.C. in 1917. Influences on his piano style included stride pianists like James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith. In 1923 he and some of his band mates moved to New York City and started playing as “the Washingtonians,” with Ellington eventually assuming leadership of the band. Although Ellington made several recordings and played clubs around Manhattan, it wasn’t until the Ellington Orchestra took a spot as the house band at the Cotton Club, with regular radio broadcasts of their performances, that the Duke achieved a solid claim to fame and became an American household name. Duke’s band was one of the few that successfully made the transition from the Hot Jazz of the 1920s to the swing of the 1930s, and his band grew in popularity and stature through the 40s and 50s.  Duke Ellington died from cancer in 1974.

Never No Lament

Recommended individual tracks:

• Jack The Bear (1999 Remastered)
• Cotton Tail (1999 Remastered)
• Cotton Tail (1999 Remastered)
• In a Mellotone (1999 Remastered)
• Five O’Clock Whistle (1999 Remastered)
• Five O’Clock Whistle (1999 Remastered)
• Perdido (1999 Remastered – Take 1)
• The
• Main Stem (1999 Remastered)
• Hayfoot, Strawfoot (1999 Remastered – Take 1)

The Duke Box

Recommended individual tracks:

• The Gal From Joe’s
• C Jam Blues

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Wiebke took some great photos of Yon and me dancing at the 2009 Fillmore Jazz Festival. We won first place in the Northern California Lindy Hop Championship!

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Lavay Smith recently invited me to teach a short beginner dance lesson right before she performed a free outdoor concert at Jessie Square at Yerba Buena Gardens on July 2nd. I had so much fun! The crowd was upbeat and ready to dance, the weather was amazing and of course the band sounded awesome too.

Yon, who has been teaching with me at Cat’s Corner this summer, taught the lesson with me and stayed to dance. Here are some photos of us.

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