Author Archives: dogpossum

hot and anxious

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While it might perhaps be the most recognisable song of the ‘swing era’, I don’t like ‘In the Mood’. Glen Miller can go screw himself. I know that he had some action going on, but I’m adamant. In fact, I’m standing by my line, and not liking his version of that song. I don’t like dancing to it, and I don’t particularly like listening to it. No, no, I don’t.
I do, however, very much like There’s Rhythm in Harlem by the Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1935). That online version there, though, unfortunately doesn’t feature the very recognisable In the Mood melody line.
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I also have a song called Hot and Anxious (1932) by Don Redman (who wrote stuff for the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers – that’s him to the left there), which also pwns the Miller version. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure they’re different songs… or different versions.
… wait, let me get my learn on.
Gunther Schuller tells me that Hot and Anxious was arranged by Horace Henderson for Don Redman (and his orchestra) in 1932. He also writes that In the Mood…

…has an interesting history. A riff tune, built on blues changes, it was composed by the black reed instrumentalist and arranger Joe Garland. But as is so often the case in riff pieces, it was based on a motif that had kicked around a long time and was simply assembled, notated, and put by Garland in a specific copyrightable form. It appears that the trumpeter Wingy Manone first used the basic In The Mood lick from 1930 on a Chicago-style recording called Tar Paper Stomp. He recorded it again, rechristened as Jumpy Nerves, in 1939, just four months before Miller’s In The Mood recording. But by that time Joe Garland had picked the riff up and had used it in his 1935 composition and arrangement of There’s Rhythm in Harlem for the Mills Blue Rhythm Band. But long before that (March 1931) Horace Henderson had incorporated the riff as the second strain in his Hot and Anxious, recorded by both his brother Fletcher’s band and Don Redman’s.
Joe Garland took his 1935 arrangement with him when he left the Blue Rhythm Band along with Edgar Hayes, and recorded it as In The Mood for Hayes in early 1938. Next he offered it to Artie Shaw, who played but never recorded it, on the one hand thinking the simplistic riff a little beneath his own musical ambitions and on the other hand finding Garland’s arrangement too long to fit on a ten-inch disc.
When Garland offered In the Mood to Miller, who was undoubtedly looking for strong new numbers for his Glen Island Casino booking, Miller grabbed the piece. With the precise skills of a first-rate surgeon Miller trimmed Garland’s arrangement down to essentials, retaining the two initial strains, building in two solo sections (a saxophone exchange between Beneke and Klink, and a Hurley 16-bar trumpet solo over an Aflat pedal point) to the famous fade-away ending with its riff repeated three times at ever softer dynamic levels, then suddenly roaring in ff a fourth time for the final climax. … [and here Schuller continues with an in-depth analysis of the score and recording]…
No official word has ever been offered as to how the arranger’s credits are to read. Two things are clear, however, from the aural evidence itself… [and Schuller describes this evidence in detail]…
It is ironic but in the nature of the popular music business, that Miller became a millionaire on In The Mood alone, unlike his three arranger helpmates – [Joe] Garland, [Eddie] Durham [once trombonist with Jimmie Lunceford’s band], and [Chummy] MacGregor [Miller’s pianist] – who did not share in the financial rewards. Durham reputedly received all of five dollars for his contribution. (The Swing Era, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1989: 674-675).

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I recommend Schuller’s histories of jazz. The Swing Era is awesome – it’s a big, fat book, and you can pick it up on amazon for a tiny amount. I don’t have Early Jazz, but it’s on my wish list. While his analyses of each musician are complemented by some seriously in-depth analysis of the score, it’s still accessible. And listening along is really fascinating – you learn an awful lot.

more lovely swedish action


(From here).
That’s Hanna, Mattias and Sakarias. No girly girl action there.
I realise I’ve been spelling Sak’s name incorrectly. These guys are all members of the Harlem Hot Shots, and I think they’re the best of the post-revival (or revival) generation.
Speaking of no girly action…“>!.
While I’m at it, here‘re some of the Hot Shots doing some Tranky Doo/Keep Punchin’ Big Apple action. Sweeeeeet.
And finally, of course, Frida takes no prisoners:

more youtube ‘blogging’

Herrang is home to the bestest vernacular jazz dance camp/festival in the world. Last few years they’ve followed up the camp with a competition in Sweden – the Battle. I use a clip from a previous year for teaching and papers at conferences.
This year the lindy hop didn’t really blow my brain, but there is some sweetness in the ‘authentic jazz competition’. Mostly in the person of one Zacharias Larsson. This boy is a giant, young Swede – quite possibly the sweetest thing. And my personal jazz dancing hero.
Check out the first clip below. That’s Zach in the white shirt and beige trousers.

(From here).
For my money, he’s the only one really bringing it – less with the show pony, more with the dancing (though he’s certainly not shy of a little showing off).
Look, here’s some more – from the finals:

(From here).
Oh yeah, that’s the action. Try to look past the flailing in the foreground (sorry, friends, but that’s not very interesting stuff – better than anything I could pull, but still… I really am tired of girls dancing dancing sexy and twirling their hands about like belly dancers – HARDEN UP!).
And, finally, peer past (even more) flailing to see him pull some serious sweet action here:

He really is pulling some sweet dancing there. If we were to get all nit-picky, he’s definitely working the ‘authentic’ stuff – as in dance steps which have some historical weight. Technically, he’s a dream. Musically, he’s awesome. And aesthetically – as a package – he makes it all work. My favourite in that last one is the way he works it quite small until the music gets big, then he brings out the nice high kicks (a la cake walking goodness).
He’s not only a nice person and a fabulous dancer, he’s also a fully sick teacher. He and Frida have been long term dance partners (though she’s getting more into the American scene these days). Here’s a photo The Squeeze took in Melbourne in 2002:

That’s them at full stretch, kickin’ it lindy hop style.

barbara morrison does sydney

BM.jpg Sparingly: Barbara Morrison rocks. Her music is very popular with swing dancers (though I’m always surprised that so few go see her shows when she’s in town – she’s a seasoned musicians who specialises in playing for dancers), and she’s doing a few shows in Sydney and one in Melbourne. She’s doing one special show for dancers with specially-priced tickets: only $30 for the first 100 tickets. She’ll be playing with the Brad Child Orchestra & John Harkins Trio. I met Brad Child last week at the Unity Hall Pub (where we’ll be this afternoon… quite soon… if you like jass) and he’s quite keen on the gig. I’m curious and looking forward to it.
From the site…
US Jazz/Blues Vocalist BARBARA MORRISON RETURNS BY POPULAR DEMAND in “MEMORIES of ELLA, SARAH & BILLIE”
The undisputed first ladies of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holliday are being saluted by US acclaimed jazz/blues vocalist Barbara Morrison, who is returning by popular demand to Australian stages in August 2008.
“The Captivating Ms. Morrison just tears ‘em up!” (LA Scoop)
“A joy! At Carnegie Hall, Barbara Morrison delivered one song a la Esther Phillips and another with Ella Fitzgerald’s blithe scat singing.” (New York Times)
and “She can be as playful as Ella, as thoughtful as Sarah, as naughty as Etta. Barbara Morrison, has an international following with her big personality and delicious sense of swing” (The Jazz World Magazine).
Where and when?
Thursday, August 21 from 7:30 pm
Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Enmore, Sydney, Australia

jazz on a winter’s day

1. I am full of snot because I forgot to take my antihistamine yesterday and our house is full of moving dust.
2. I got up late because we went dancing at the Roxbury. Yes, we had a night at the Roxbury. It was wicked fun – a crowded, pumping room with lots of dancers and lots of fun. There’s a lot of dancing in Sydney, and a lot of dancers. So far we have been out dancing four times (in two weeks!), and had to beg off a fifth because we were wrecked from house hunting. It wasn’t just a heap of fun because there were so many dancers there, it was also a heap of fun because there’s such a range of dancing styles on the floor. There’re two major schools in Sydney, one which is an off-shoot of a Melbourne school, another which also has an interstate presence and which teaches ‘Hollywood’ style. I have to say that there were some leads there last night that blew my brain – they were so good I just thought ‘just follow, just follow – don’t muck this up with any fancy business’.
They weren’t just technically good dancers, they were also socially ‘good’ – they’d smile and respond and interact with their partners and did nice things like say “thanks for that dance!” and ask for another with enthusiasm. They were also more musically interesting – not just dancing the same old boring steps in the same old combinations, regardless of phrasing or energy or the structure of the song generally. And then they were great because they did things like include interesting jazz steps, experiment with the connection and really make me pay attention.
First night in town dancing I was suddenly struck by how obstructive my own bad habits are to my following. And when I danced with someone who ‘felt’ like a Melbourne dancer (yanking me in on one, rather than using a more mellow lead in), I suddenly thought ‘oh, this is why I have this bad habit of running in one, rather than waiting to be led – I’m trying to protect myself and avoid yank’. But that same protective rush is also impeding my following – it’s like I’m interrupting and yapping on without listening to their idea; I’m finishing their sentences. And in turn this makes it difficult for us to actually have a proper conversation where we’re both contributing equally.
A nice thing about dancing in a really diverse scene with lots of leads who take very different approaches is that I have to pick up my game and I feel inspired and really interested in actually dancing. Another nice thing is that it’s really nice to watch the floor. In fact, it feels like we’re at an exchange – even The Squeeze is dancing a lot. We’re possibly going dancing again tonight (a big band squeezed into the Unity Hall pub in Balmain this afternoon) and while I’m a bit hesitant as we have more house stuff to do, he’s all “yep, we’ll be there!”
There’re actually quite a few live bands to see in Sydney. In fact, there’s not much of a DJing culture at all here, and most people are into live music for their dancing. This is really very nice – we’ve only seen one band so far, but it’s always exciting to see new musicians. The year we went to SLX (the Sydney Lindy Exchange) the exchange coincided with the Manly Jazz Festival – now that was special.
jsd.jpg 3. Which is a nice segue to my next point. Right now I’m watching Jazz on a Summer’s Day, a 1960 film made about the Newport Jazz Festival. FXH recommended it in his comment to this post, but I’d mistaken it for another film. Any how, I ordered it on our Quickflix account and I’m watching it right now, while I wipe my nose and The Squeeze has a long, deliciously decadent lie-in (the first he’s had in about a month). It’s a great film, the music is really fabulous and the visuals are really neat – lots of crowd footage, scenes from the yacht race and of course, really, really amazing footage of musicians. anita1.jpg
Newport looms large in my mind for a number of reasons. Firstly, because there are so many freakin’ amazing albums featuring performances from the festival.
mj.jpg My most recent purchase in this series was the Mahalia Jackson live in 1958, and that really is fully sick. Beyond that, there’s the Count Basie at Newport album, and of course, the Ellington at Newport in ’56. Both of these are really neat. What makes them so neat is the fact that these were really big stars live in front of a massive crowd at an outdoor festival.
hs.jpgBeyond these, Newport is also an important character in a film I’ve always loved, High Society. Louis Armstrong stars in High Society, and the protagonist Dexter is played by Bing Crosby. Dexter is set up as a patron/organiser? (I can’t remember which) of the Newport Jazz Festival, and the entire film is set in Newport. There’re some interesting class things going on in the film, the one that always catches my interest being the way Armstrong is set up as the ‘narrative’ of the film in the opening scene as he and his band arrive in town in a coach (a nice contrast with Samantha’s sports car). Armstrong also sings the really great song ‘Now You Has Jazz’ with Bing Crosby, a song which is popular with dancers (and good fun for dancing). There’s a sweet scene where Armstrong and the band introduce the very straight, very white crowd of Newport socialites to jazz. They play the one song then it’s back to straighty-one-eighty unswing, unjazz for the rest of the party. I really like the idea of a black man (and such an important man in the history of jazz) introducing a bunch of straights to jazz at a Newport society house party. The crowd are apparently completely unaware of the festival and its significance – oblivious to the world beyond their high society manners and conflicts. Crosby’s role is kind of problematic, set up as he is, as the ‘patron’ for the festival.
It’s interesting to watch High Society in reference to Jazz on a Summer’s Day, and in the light of the festival’s history more generally. And I’m very grateful to FXH for getting me onto this film in the first place.

lindy hop 80s style

I know it’s wrong to just post youtube clips, but I had to. This is some dancing from the 80s – I’m sure I recognise some famous doods there, but I’m confident enough to specify. But you HAVE to watch through to see two chicks dancing together – they rock.

In a similar vein, here’s some more 80s lindy. This time it’s the Harlem Hot Shots (Swedish superstars) doing a fully sick recreation of very famous routine(s). These guys are really tight, pulling out shit that’s tres chic with the kids today… and to think, some of those kids were all ‘I only dance smooth’ five years ago. Sigh.

FYI: here’s the original routine referenced by the Hot Shots:

…and of course, the Hellza routine: