New Harlem venue from 18th March: Amera’s Palace, level 2, 314 Marrickville rd, Marrickville.
Done a floor-test, and it’s sweet. It has air-con. It’s near restaurants, cafes, pubs, public transport, and has off-street parking. It’s bigger than previous venues. It has a chunking sound system. Leave your stilettos at home. No knife-fights, thanks.
My jazz nerdery has reached (glorious) new heights.
This genuine jazz zine (accompaniment to our jazz history class) can be YOURS for the grand sum of 50AUc. PM to find out how to get it to your house.
Now available ONLINE as my journey into capitalism continues: http://swingdancesydney.com/shop.html
Price: now incredibly high (to cover postage), but also with the added incredible experience of receiving actual PAPER MAIL
…speaking of jazz history nerdery…
The Hot Jazz Alliance have some actual music you can actually buy.
This band is quite special because it includes some of Melbourne’s finest jazznerd musicians: Jon Scurry (guitar/banjo), Leigh Barker (bass/sousaphone), Michael McQuaid (clarinet/sax), Jason Downes (clarinet/sax); and some very good American musicians: Andy Schumm (Cornet/Piano), Josh Duffee (drums/percussion).
All these guys have played for dancers one million times (Leigh Barker is a part of The Melbourne Rhythm Project), and they know their shit. They also know what they’re about when it comes to ye oldey hawt jass.
Here, have some Jimmie Noone.
“There’s never been anyone who’s brought such excitement… Count Basie is the man who made big bands sound like an inspired small band.”
I’m thinking about riff-based big band work atm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9NBYouJ9nI&feature=youtu.be&list=PLwF7H2q48PPN5zDMBAftMKhOCOuJA_brg
The footage at the end is probably a mix of the 1938 gig and a 1950s Newport gig but YOLO BASIE LIVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYjq1HgnQO4
This plan of the ballroom was posted by Felix Berghäll on his wall recently, and I noticed that the band stage was on the long wall of a rectangular room. This is pretty much the opposite of the way we set up rooms for concerts usually. But it makes much better sense if you want to be sure a room can see the band, from the dance floor or tables.
Looking at photos of the Cloudland ballroom, it also has the stage on the long wall.
I use a fair few ballrooms and dance halls around the place, from square ones (the lovely Annandale Town Hall) to round ones (the gorgeous Famous Spiegeltent). My preference as a DJ is a round room, or to have the DJ/band on the long wall of a rectangular room, so that it’s right in the ‘middle’ of things. It’s also better for sound, because the speakers don’t have to ‘throw’ down a loooong room. They can radiate from the middle of the room.
This is an issue for me at the moment, as I’m thinking about the dance we’re holding on the Saturday of the Little Big Weekend 13-15 May 2016 . It’s in the Glebe Town Hall, which is pretty much perfect. But it’s long and narrow, with a teeny-tiny (and wholly inadequate) stage in one corner.
So I was thinking we’d put the band on the long wall (opposite a large double door).
Question: will this leave us room to have a competition in front of the band? Asking for a friend*.
*Myself. I am my own friend.
With your novelty corrugated iron roof and bizarro colour scheme. You are affordable, you’re centrally located, and interesting. But you are also perfectly oriented so as to never catch a breeze, and your hideous 1950s added front-bit makes you so hot the floor wax melts. I have never been in a venue so hot. Mid-winter, and I thought I might actually boil alive in there.
Ah, Brisbane under Joh. A horrible time for everyone. In 1982 the Deen Bros did as they’d done (and would do) a million times more, they tore down a historic Brisbane building at the government’s instruction, and with dubious legality.
Cloudland Ballroom. Here are a bunch of photos to make you feel sad.
Andrew Dickeson’s Blue Rhythm Band.
http://bluerhythmband.org/
I wrote this email the afternoon after Jazz with Ramona.
My only regret is that I don’t have any sound files or video to flaunt this band’s mad skills.
Hi everyone,
I had to write to you immediately to tell you about the band we used last night at the Jazz with Ramona weekend: Andrew Dickeson’s Blue Rhythm Band.
I’ve been looking for small to medium sized band that just plays good, solid swing. I’ve been working with Andrew for a while on putting together the right line up, charts, and set structure, he’s done a gig for me with this band before, and played in lots of other bands for, but last night…
I was just amazed.
It was like someone shoved Basie’s band into a four piece. Andrew is gifted drummer and jazz historian (he teaches jazz at the Conservatorium here in Sydney), but more importantly, he really understands what lindy hoppers are looking for in a band. And he has spectacular taste. He not only played great arrangements, be combined the songs inside the set the way a the best DJ would. I was amazed. I just couldn’t believe how good it was. And the musicians play by ear, with some strong leadership and collaboration on who solos when. Andrew invited Mona to tap with him, and it was integrated so well into the band, it was like she was just another musician. It was riveting.
They play classic solid swing. Four on the floor and no cheating – perfect for lindy hopping. Song-wise, they played the things we want. King Porter Stomp. Swinging the blues (the ~150bpm version). Moten Swing. Doodlin’. Jumpin at the Woodside. Jeep is Jumpin’, Flying Home. And they knew how to work the tempos to suit what the dancers could handle, but also to adjust the energy in the room. Playing together, they’d call things like “King Porter’s Stomp, but brighten it up and put some energy in it,” or “Jeep, but go in heavy”. I can’t believe a 4 piece can play a song like Jumpin’ at the Woodside and make it feel like a big band.
Anrdrew’s also very good to work with.
His email: swingishere1234@gmail.com
His phone number: +61 401 354 897
Website: http://bluerhythmband.org/
I cannot recommend this band enough. I have him booked for all three nights of the Little Big Weekend in May, putting together a 4piece, a slightly larger band, and then a 3 piece barrelhouse band. I have absolute confidence in his ability to give each band a different flavour, and to deliver top shelf swinging jazz to my brief.
More importantly, Lennart declared this band very nice and actually went in a jam of his own free will in October. They are that good.
If you book him, I’ll be there.
Often instrumental blues used ‘riffs,’ also – single rhythmic phrases repeated over and over, as a background to the melody, or as the melody itself. Jazz today uses riffs. It also uses ‘breaks,’ which come from the blues. At the end of a phrase of melody or words, there is a little pause, during which one or more instruments break away from the melody and make up some fill-in music (pg 20).
This is why I get angry when I watch dancers ‘hit’ all breaks by standing still. If a musician or band leaves you some space, you should fill it. Not every time, but often enough to show you’re listening. This is also why we teach our beginners about break steps in their first or first class. First you set up the rhythm, then you break it. You aren’t just dead weight in this song; you have to bring something to the party, because you are part of the band. When someone calls, you respond.