100. Gordon Webster

One of the few contemporary artists on this list, Gordon Webster is killing it with his swingin’ jazz, small combo styles; playing crowd favorites from C Jam Blues to Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho, and even Bie Mir Bist Du Schon. Canadian born, and now a well travelled piano player, Webster found his inspiration from such greats as Oscar Peterson,  Fats Waller and Count Basie. A dancer’s favorite anywhere he goes, Webster is fast becoming one of the most sought after musicians today. To listen and purchase his music, click here. I highly suggest you do.

99. Cozy Cole

Playing alongside many of the greats of his time, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Wilber Sweatman, Willie Bryant and even Earl Hines, Cole had tremendous success in every band he played in. A lifelong student of the drums, he was the first black musician to work on a network musical staff (CBS in 1943). Known widely in the dance community for his swingin’ rendition of Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho; complete with rousing drum intro. The Cozy Cole All Stars Album is a must have. If you can find it

98. Freddy Johnson

Not one of those pianists you would particularly be able to pick out of a lineup, but how can you go wrong with a song entitled ‘Jam with Bacon?’ Perhaps one of my more favorite Johnson tracks, along with Shine and the screamin I’ve Got Rhythm. But really, Jam with Bacon? That should be a mandatory song for any contemporary band these days. Everything goes better with bacon.

97. Jimmy Noone

Our first clarinetist to make the list; Jimmy Noone was considered one of the best clarinetists of the 1920s, rivaling such names as Sidney Bechet and Johnny Dodds. More known for his smooth, romantic tone, Noone played with the likes of Earl Hines and Joe Williams. One of my personal favorites is ‘I Lost My Gal from Memphis – Jimmy Noone (2CD Set Plus 20 Page Booklet)’.

96. John Kirby

Master of the double bass, Kirby played with both Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson, two of the premier band leaders of the swing era. In 1937 Kirby set out on his own with the John Kirby Sextet known as the Onyx Club Boys, recording several small group favorites such as Close Shave, Rose Room, and a kick ass version of St. Louis Blues. That little known band from San Francisco /chuckle, Stompy Jones, does a great job of recreating some of Kirby’s best work.

95. Frank Newton

At The Rugcutters Ball(Teddy Hill), Strange Fruit(Billie Holiday), Gimme A Pigfoot (And A Bottle of Beer) (Bessie Smith), bet you didn’t know that was Frank Newton on trumpet, did you? Check out The Panic Is On – The Ultimate Jazz Archive 6: Mezz Mezzrow, Vol. 3 (Mezz Mezrow). While his career was short, it was not short on tremendous skills. Click here for a great article on Frank Newton.

94. Ziggy Elman

There are a few singular artists that stick out for me in the sea of Big Bands, but Ziggy is one who does; for one singular recording. Swingtime In The Rockies, Benny Goodman: Live At Carnegie Hall 1938. Just listen at the end of the recording, and try your hardest to stop those goose bumps from swelling. To hear Ziggy playing OVER the band during the shout chorus is a triumph that I never tire.

93. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys

I never said this list was comprised of what most people think is classic swing(in’) music. You might think that Bob Wills is country, but have you ever heard a western swing version of Tea for Two, C-Jam Blues, A Smooth One or even In The Mood? The Texas Playboys recorded these amazingly swingin tracks, and just because they wear cowboy hats, doesn’t means it doesn’t swing! The King of Western Swing (4 disc set of awesomeness!)

92. Jess Stacy

Featured pianist for Benny Goodman from 1935 – 1939, Stacy has the unfortunate honor for being the piano player BEFORE Goodman hired Teddy Wilson. Not to be outdone however, Stacy played with such greats as Eddie Condon, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa and Bob Crosby. Stacy is featured in one of the more dubious classics of the swing dance community, ‘Sing Sing Sing’ performed Live at Carnegie Hall, 1938.

91. Ozzie Nelson

Yes, I am talking about Ozzie and Harriet, Ozzie Nelson. Before you knew him as the all American dad, he was a fabulous band leader. I know right! Ozzie Nelson a big band leader, who’d a thunk it! Recording two dance favorites of mine: “Central Avenue Shuffle” and “Rigamarole”.

This year was particularly irritating to me. VH1 created a Top 100 Artists of All Time list. Sounds good initially. I love their Top 100 lists, and their series I Love The 80′s is a real treat! Top 100 one hit wonders of the 80s, Top 100 artists of the 80′s, 90′s or even 00′s. However, they struck a major chord with me when they created the Top 100 Artists of All Time.  Key words: ALL TIME!

As the name suggests you have certain expectations of who would be on the list:

• Led Zepplin
• Bob Dylan
• The Beatles
• Duke Ellington
• Elvis Presley
• Elton John
• Michael Jackson
• Benny Goodman
• James Brown
• U2

But much to my shagrin, that was not the case. Sure, The Beatles and Led Zepplin were on the list, but Elvis Costello, Hall & Oats, George Michael, Al Green, Tupac Shakur, Eminem, and Van Morrison made the list? And how did Beyonce beat Little Richard? Not to take anything away from any of these artists, they are all fabulous in their own right, and will not be forgotten in the history of music; but where are the jazz artists? Where is Benny Goodman, the King of Swing? Where is Duke Ellington, credited with over 3000 songs? Where are any of the pop stars from the 30s and 40s?  None on the list! Shoot, where is Mozart and Bethoven? Are you saying that Peter Gabirel is better than Amadeus? I think not!

As I was watching the program, I heard how the list was created “We asked 200 artists on the list, artists not on the list, writers, critics and comedians alike…”. Are you kidding me? WOW! No wonder Joni Mitchell made the list. Do any of those comedians or artists on your list even listen to vintage jazz, let alone jazz at all, let alone even know what jazz is? Carrie Underwood was a judge? Dear lord!

Absolutely absurd!

SO! I took it upon myself to ask 1 DJ what his top 100 artists of all time would be, and what do you know? Not one contemporary rock and roll artist made the cut.

Why? Because jazz artists continually get the shaft when it comes to their musical importance in today’s society, and I have had enough. Sure, there are a couple contemporary artists on the list, but you will be hard pressed to find more than a handful still alive today.

(Side note, remember when kids would pull one pant leg up and thought it was cool? /cough L.L. Cool J /cough  Well, Count Basie was doing that as a kid in New Jersey! Who’s original now!)

Over the coming months, I will be publishing my own Top 100 Artists of All Time. Look for the bottom of the list to be published in increments of 10, and as we push to the top, more time and detail will be spent on each of those artists, counting down to Number 1.

Each post will contain information either about the artist personally, or a few notes as to why I think they are worthy of the list.  Plenty of links to more resources about each artist. You will also find a small selection of my favorite tracks from those artists, so you too can download and find the same joy in them that I do.

** Want to add your own artists to this list? Please do! Let me know at the bottom of this or any of the Top 100 posts for who you think should or shouldn’t have made the cut.

Sure this list might contain more Jazz artists than it should, but since VH1 didn’t feel like qualifying their list, I will do the same.

Check out the list:

100 – 91

The students, staff, instructors and food were outstanding. The evening dancing was top notch, and the music was incredible (even excluding my own personal music). David puts on a top notch camp!

Exclusive to this years camp was the first ever Music Madness. A celebration and competition of high quality swing music (complete with Sponsors!). The setup is easy, 64 of the best songs to dance balboa were pitted head to head in a single elimination tournament, where one song took the home the Chick Webb Memorial Trophy.

(The tournament is modeled after the popular NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament)

The idea of Music Madness came about from the classic big band battles of the swing era. Chick vs. Benny; Fletch vs. Goldkette. And the idea of both recreating those classic battles, and battles that never happened was exciting. Put that together with the eternal debate of “what is balboa music?” or “This song is better than that song” and you have the recepie for a down and dirty, knock out drag out music battle!

Now, I do realize that the Experiment is only 30 or so people, and that the music was selected by me, however, I am not here to claim that this is the answer to all your questions, concerns, hopes and dreams. This was purely my own little “experiment” and something that was fun and …come to find out… very popular among the dancers.

On to the battle!

There were some deviations from the tournament in order to accommodate the large field of music and the limited amount of time. The 1st and 2nd round of the tournament were held before the Experiment as it was determined that there wouldn’t be enough time to run those rounds given the other events that take place over the week at the Experiment. Those rounds were “scientifically” (a.k.a. I chose the winners at home, with a scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other). Be sure to check out the full bracket PDF at the bottom for full event results, including some of the big upsets of the tournament (Did Sing, Sing, Sing really beat out Jonathan Stout? How and the hell did Bie Mir Bist Du Shein beat White Heat?) Since I was there for two different weeks of the camp, we were able to run it for both weeks and potentially crown two different winners. The audience at the Experiment started to weigh in on their favorites when the tournament arrived at the Palomar Ballroom and Hollywood Palladium.

How did it go?

Each pair of songs were played back to back. At the end of the second song, the audience was asked to cheer for their favorite. After a few seconds of voting a winner was announced and moved on to the next round.

Here are some highlight winners from week 1 and week 2 from the 3rd round.

• Organ Grinders Swing came away with a big upset against the #1 seed Honeysuckle Rose (If you ask me, this was the biggest upset of the tournament)
• In both weeks, Willie Bryant’s version of Rigamarole beat out Mora’s Modern Rhythmists version. Well done Willie!
• Turns out that Swingin’ The Blues might have bought their way into the #3 seed, getting beaten by Jam Session both weeks, and I must say, by a WIDE margin each week.

Final Four:

The Final Four and ensuing championship round were played out just the same as the previous rounds, however, there were a few duels where additional voting was required as we were unable to determine a winner from the initial voting. It was a tight match up for some.

Championship

Both a surprise and a “duh” was that the winner of Week 1 was also the winner of Week2, Man From Mars by Artie Shaw. A classic big band track, with plenty of twists and turns throughout the song, Man From Mars was the clear winner in both weeks. It really is no surprise that such a classic, recognizable tune would dominate the tournament. Not only does the song deliver great energy, it also delivers a wonderful amount of audio interest for the dancers to play on.

Winner of the Chick Webb Memorial Trophy 2011: Man From Mars, Artie Shaw

You can download a PDF version of the brackets here.

Week 1 Bracket PDF

Week 2 Bracket PDF

Thanks to everyone who participated and help drive the energy of Music Madness. I am extremely excited to have already been asked back to the Experiment next year, and hopefully I will be able to hang around for all three weeks, and hopefully we will see a return of Music Madness.

I would love to hear what you guys think about this whole thing. I was really stoked with it from start to finish and can’t wait to do it again.

*** Correction: Kim Smith (my wife) was a critical part of the success of this project. Without her guidance, passion, assistance and critical thinking skills, none of this would have been possible.

Invitational

• Warm Up
  • Kingdom Of Swing – Benny Goodman

• Spotlights
  • I Want To Be Happy – Benny Goodman – Jacob/Kate
  • I Gotta Swing – Blanche Calloway – Matt/Dominique
  • Blues In The Groove – Fletcher Henderson – Marty/Jen
  • Zig Zag – Casa Loma Orchestra – Nick/Patricia
  • Down South Camp Meeting – Charlie Barnet – Fred/Krista
  • Jimtown Blues – Fletcher Henderson – Jeremy/Kelly
  • Jumpin At The Woodside – Alix Combelle – Jason/Laura
  • Hollywood Jump – Count Basie – Adam/Andree-Anne
  • Minnie The Moocher’s Wedding Day – Henry ‘Red’ Allen – Bebby/Nelle
  • Eeny Meeny Miney Mo – Benny Goodman – Joel/Val
  • Lafayette – Hot Lips Page – Nick/Heather

• All Skate
  • Digga Digga Doo – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

Intergalactic

Prelims

• Warm Up
  • Tain’t What You Do – Jimmie Lunceford

• Heat 1
  • Song 1 – Dancing With A Debutante – Les Brown
  • Song 2 – Big John’s Special – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
  • Song 3 – Special Delivery Stomp – Artie Shaw

• Heat 2
  • Song 1 – Riffin’ The Blues – Lil Armstrong
  • Song 2 – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Song 3 – Chimes At The Meeting – Willie Bryant

• All Skate
  • Doggin’ Around – Count Basie

Finals

• Warm Up
  • Swingin’ In The Promised Land – Edgar Hayes

• Jam
  • Song 1 – Floogie Walk – Cab Calloway
  • Song 2 – Stampede – Fletcher Henderson

• All Skate
  • Sugarfoot Stomp – Ella Fitzgerald

Amateur Open Classic

Finals

• Warm Up
  • Oh! So Good – Glenn Miller

• Spotlights
  • Song 1 – True Blue Lou – Boots & His Buddies – Seth/Caroline & David/Jennifer
  • Song 2 – Jumpin – Hot Lips Page – David/Sandrine & Robert/Carol
  • Song 3 – Jubilee Swing – Ella Fitzgerald – Jaredan/Nina & Robert/Carol
  • Song 4 – Christopher Columbus – Willie Lewis – Frankie/Kristy & Tim/Ulla
  • Song 5 – Downhome Jump – Lionel Hampton – Brian/Linda & Robert/Kathleen
  • Song 6 – House Hop(Take-2) – Benny Goodman – Dabe/Janelle & Andrey/Lian
  • Song 7 – King Porter Stomp – Teddy Hill – David/Nikki & Martin/Alicia

• All Skate
  • Swingin’ The Blues – Count Basie

Open Classic

Prelims

• All Skate
  • Song 1 – Breakin In A Pair Of Shoes – Benny Goodman
  • Song 2 – Ball Of Fire – Roy Eldridge
  • Song 3 – Jamaica Jam – Teddy Powell
  • Song 4 – Traffic Jam – Artie Shaw
  • Song 5 – Shout And Feel It – Count Basie

Finals

• All Skate
  • Tea For Two – Bob Zurke

• Battles
  • Song 1 – Drummin Man – Gene Krupa – David/Chelsea & Matt/Krista
  • Song 2 – The Counts Idea – Charlie Barnet – Jason S/Heather & Naru/Nao
  • Song 3 – Jumpin At The Woodside – Count Basie – Fred/Pat & Jacob/Val
  • Song 4 – Swingtime In The Rockies – Benny Goodman – Javier/Mary & Jeremy/Dominique
  • Song 5 – We’ll Git It – Dorsey Brothers – Marty/Teni & Jason/Kelly

• All Skate
  • Dark Eyes – Jonathan Stout

Open Jack & Jill

Prelims

• Heat 1
  • Song 1 – King Porter Stomp – Kenny Baker
  • Song 2 – What A Shuffle – Chick Webb
  • Song 3 – Ring Dem Bells – Charlie Barnet

• Heat 2
  • Song 1 – The Vamp – Boots & His Buddies
  • Song 2 – All Is Not Gold That Glitters – Kenny Baker
  • Song 3 – Rigamarole – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

• Heat 3
  • Song 1 – Goody-Goody – Benny Goodman
  • Song 2 – Main Stem – Duke Ellington
  • Song 3 – Digga Digga Doo – Ella Fitzgerald

Finals

• All Skate
  • Song 1 – Rose Room – Bill Coleman
  • Song 2 – Sing Sing Sing – Fletcher Henderson
  • Song 3 – Blow Top – Count Basie
  • Song 4 – Honeysuckle Rose – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

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• What makes one song better than another
• How to determine the amount of suck a song has
• What to do when the song has too much suck
• 10 Steps you can take to remove the suck from your local music scene
• and more…

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Hopefully I will see all of you at my talk on Saturday. Bring your lunch, a notepad and a strong desire to rid your dance scene of musical suckage.

P.S.  Music information from this year’s EBC competition will be posted on this site. Keep checking in, it wont be too long after EBC.

One of the most important responsibilities for a DJ is to pay attention to the crowd and respond to the energy the crowd is giving off.  This means speeding up the tempo and energy of song selections when the mood of the crowd demands and knowing when to change the mood of the music to flow with the ebb and flow of the evening.  This is not an easy thing to do, it takes hours of practice and a little instinct.  To become a great DJ there are three main responsibilities.

DJ’s have a responsibility to play music that is:

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• danceable
• enjoyable
• inspiring

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Playing music that is danceable.

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This is a highly subjective phrase. A song that one group or individual may consider to be the holy grail of dancing could turn out to be a song that is the bain of the dancing world for another group or individual. How does a DJ successfully interpret this? First, you do not have to only play songs that keeps the dance floor full. I have never subscribed to this philosophy. Playing a song where only 10% of the dancers are on the floor is not necessarily a failed song. If that 10% are having a great time, fully enjoying 3 minutes bliss, then the song is a success. It’s ok to let those others who aren’t excited by that song sit and rest a bit; get some water, socialize with friends, and get ready for the next tune. Now, this does not mean that a DJ should be happy filling the floor with 10% of the dancers the entire night. Not by any means.

A successful DJ will find a balance throughout the evening, playing songs that fill the floor, then on occasion, play a song that cleanses the dancers pallet. Know your community. Satiating the minority with their preferred musical selections is an acceptable practice. That 10% minority can grow to an 80% majority from being exposed to alternative tracks.

[warning_box]**Disclaimer:  There are some venues that specialize in specific types/styles of music. I am not advocating a DJ to play a 280bpm Big Band tune at a Blues venue and vice-versa. Understand your venue and pay attention.[/warning_box]

Music should be enjoyable

There are some really amazing songs out there. Being a Classic Big Band Swing fan, I am a huge fan of Duke Ellington. One of my favorite albums is The Duke at Fargo, 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition. That album has one of the most amazing versions of Cottontail of all time! However, the recording quality is quite…interesting. It was as if they recorded it using a potato and a jar of marbles. The song sounds amazing in my headphones. But I would hesitate to play it at a dance event because of this poor sound quality. Poor sound quality can turn into an unenjoyable dance experience, despite how much awesomesauce the song has.

Let’s further consider song quality.

Just because a song isn’t recorded in HiFi doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play it. There are plenty of LoFi tracks that have some cracks and pops, and are wonderful to dance to. Dead Man Blues by Jelly Roll Morton, is by no means a modern marvel of exceptional recording technology. However, these pops and cracks add a rich, vintage quality to the song that translates into a highly enjoyable dance. Again, the DJ needs to understand their community, the tolerances of their crowd, and playability of their music.

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DJ’s should be inspiring.

First and foremost, the DJ has to encourage dancing. Play music that the crowd loves and enjoys dancing to. You are not out there to stream your ego directly into the PA.

Second, a DJ has the ability, and when used wisely, to inspire the community to try new dances. Is balboa new to your scene? Play a balboa song to encourage it’s growth. Don’t just satiate those moaning bal dancers with a song that is 300bpm and is technically ‘jazz.’ Play a great balboa tune that is in the danceable range for the entire crowd.  This will inspire and encourage your community to get on the dance floor and help grow the community.

Great swing music is exciting, dynamic, and most of all inspiring to its listeners.
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DJ’s have the responsibility to be responsible.

[fancy_box]There is one reason, and one reason only, that you were asked/hired to DJ a dance event :To play music for people to dance to and have a good time.[/fancy_box]

That it’s it. It’s simple, understated, and possibly the most abused. You are not there to try to show off your musical prowess with ultra rare B-sides from artists that no one has ever heard of. You are not there to flex your e-peen to your friends and stump them on a game of ‘Name That Tune.’ If dancers wanted to play a game, they would be at home playing Farmville. They are there to dance.

You have a responsibility to play danceable music. Playing standards isn’t the end of the world nor your career. They are called standards for a reason. I most certainly wont get tired of hearing Swingin’ The Blues, Segue In C, Blue Drag or Business In F. Nick Williams will never tire of Rigamarole by Mora’s Modern Rhythmists, and Chris Owens will never be seen sitting while What A shuffle by Chick Webb is being played. Sure, play your rare tracks, they could be the next Joshua Fit, or At Sundown. But what if they aren’t? Are you ready to come back with a solid tune? Do you have a recovery plan?

One of the first lessons I got in the school of DJing was from a local DJ in San Francisco, Marc D’Olimpio. To paraphrase:

Ok, you have a song that you want to play, but aren’t sure if the crowd will respond to it. This is what you do: Have two tracks ready to go. One track that is the risky track, its not a standard, but you like and hope the crowd will too.  The other track should be a solid go-to standard (in his case it was Now You has Jazz by Louis Armstrong). Be prepared so that if the first song fails, you can immediately play your go-to song, and quell that rising tide of disgust from the previous track. So if your new song missed, you can immediately erase that bad taste, and move on.

The whole DJ process is about learning. As a DJ, if you are not learning and educating yourself you are only doing a disservice to your community and your venue probably won’t be around for long, and neither will your career.

As a DJ for too many years to count, I have embarked on a never ending quest to perfect the art of DJing. So I ask of you: What are your thoughts? What do you think are the responsibilities of the DJ? How do you define a ‘danceable’ song?

AM Jack and Jill Prelims

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• Heat 1
  • Shivers – The Ramblers
  • Community Swing – Glenn Miller
  • Jubilee Swing – Ella Fitzgerald

• Heat 2
  • Take It – Benny Goodman
  • Flyin’ Home – Charlie Barnett
  • Lafayette – Hot Lips Page

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AM Jack and Jill SemiFinals

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• Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho – Sidney Bechet
• Jumpin’ – Hot Lips Page
• In The Groove (At The Grove) – Ella Fitzgerald
• Carioca – Artie Shaw

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AM Jack and Jill Finals

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• Hocus Pocus – Fletcher Henderson
• Everybody Rock – Ella Fitzgerald
• I Want To Be Happy – Benny Goodman
• Jumpin At The Woodside – Count Basie

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OPEN Jack and Jill Prelims

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• Heat 1
  • Mr. Ghost Goes To Town – Mills Blue Rhythm Band
  • Jumpin At The Woodside – Alix Combelle
  • Rose Room – Boots and his Buddies
• Heat 2
  • Troubled – Frankie Trumbauer
  • All Is Not Gold That Jitters – Kenny Baker
  • I’ve Found a New Baby – Willie Lewis

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OPEN Jack and Jill Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Breaken ‘Em Down – Chick Webb
• Spotlights:
  • Joanna/Joe – Smoke House Rhythm – Benny Goodman
  • Matt/Vanessa – King Porter Stomp – Tommy Dorsey
  • Naru/Teni – Digga Digga Doio – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Andreas/Nao – Madhouse – Benny Goodman
  • Jason/Carla – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Adam/Jen – Jamaica Jam – Teddy Powell
  • Javi/Stocks – Super Chief – Count Basie
  • Jacob/Heather – Let’s Get Together – Chick Webb
  • Patricia/Fred – Man From Mars – Artie Shaw
  • Nelle/Davis – Swingin’ In The Promised Land – Edgar Hayes
• All-Skate
  • Honeysuckle Rose – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

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AM ACBC Prelims

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• Warm Up
  • Rock-A-Bye Basie – Count Basie
• Heat 1
  • Christopher Columbus – Willie Lewis
  • Dancing With A Debutante – Les Brown
• Heat 2
  • Man From Mars – Artie Shaw
  • Jim Town Blues – Fletcher Henderson
• All Skate
  • Swingtime In The Rockies – Benny Goodman

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AM ACBC Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Minor Swing – Django Reinhardt
• Spotlights:
  • Andrew/Lisa – Big John’s Special – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
  • Jason/Shana – Smoke House Rhythm – Benny Goodman
  • Rudolph/Katherine – Don’t Be That Way – Chick Webb
  • Tim/Ulla – Jamaica Jam #2 – Teddy Powell
  • Tamoko/Daniel – Dinah – Count Basie
  • Jeongwoo/Crystal – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Artie Shaw
  • Corey/Susan – Diga Diga Doo – Artie Shaw
  • Andre/Tina – Christopher Columbus – Don Redman
  • David/Chelsea – Madhouse – Benny Goodman
  • Laura/Jason – King Porter Stomp – Jimmy Dorsey
• All Skate
  • We’ll Get It – Dorsey Brothers

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OPEN ACBC Prelims

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• Warm Up
  • Cherokee – Charlie Barnett
• Heat 1
  • New Orleans Twist – Gene Gifford
  • Rigamarole – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
• Heat 2
  • I Surrender Dear – Lionel Hampton
  • The Last Jump – Charlie Barnett
• All Skate
  • Casa Loma Stomp – Casa Loma Orchestra

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OPEN ACBC Finals

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• Warm Up
  • Uppercut – Artist Unknown
• Spotlights:
  • Andreas/Joanna – Clarinet Marmalade – Benny Goodman
  • Jeremy/Mary – Harlem Jump – Jack Teagarden
  • Patricia/Fred – Jam Session – Benny Goodman
  • Adam/Nelle – Business in F – Gene Kardos
  • Nick/Laura – Slip Horn Jive – Glenn Miller
  • Naru/Nao – Walk Jenny Walk – Benny Goodman
  • Bobby/Kate – Stampede – Fletcher Henderson
  • Jason/Andi – Let ‘Er Go – Fletcher Henderson
  • Matt/Krista – Rock and Rye – Earl Hines
  • Jacob/Jen – Diga Diga Doo – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists
• All Skate
  • Traffic Jam – Artie Shaw

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10:00am Main Ballroom Django Reinhardt: 100
This year we celebrate the 100th birthday of Django Reinhardt. Wake up Sunday morning, grab a cup of coffee, and learn about the exciting and dynamic legacy of Gypsy Guitarist, Django Reinhardt. Learn what the difference is between gypsy jazz and swing jazz. Learn what made Django a legend of jazz guitar. Sunday morning, 10:00 in the main ballroom.

1:30pm Main Ballroom Musicality for everyone
Grab your lunch and head into the main ballroom for an hour of musicality with Nick Williams, Bobby White, Kate Hedin and myself as we talk candidly about personal expression and music interpretation. Learn from dance and music experts what musicality is, and how to successfully incorporate it into your dancing. Break down the music to its purest form and learn to listen to the music, listen to what it is telling you, listen to those musical cues, and learn to make your dancing even more intertwined into the music you love. Sunday afternoon, lunch time in the main ballroom.

4:30pm Main Ballroom The musical journey.
Take off your shoes, and hang out with me for an hour on Sunday afternoon as I run the gamut of what it means and what it takes to become a successful swing DJ. From song selection and equipment to play-lists and requests, I will take you on a joyful ride of what it is like to DJ a national event. Learn what it takes to create an evening that everyone will remember. Even if you aren’t a DJ, drop in and share your thoughts on what a great evening of recorded music is. This is a fully interactive class, but dancing is not required Stop by Sunday afternoon, 4:30, in the main ballroom, for an hour of music, education, interaction, and fun.