Devil City Swing has got to be one of my favourite exchanges. So I was thrilled to be playing a set there. My set was Sunday night at the last venue (The Grand Poobah). We were late getting into the venue so I couldn’t have music playing when people arrived. The first couple of songs were essentially the sound check as the system was set up. As it was the last night I knew that folk would be sitting, chatting and drinking (though clearly not enough as the venue didn’t go through till as late as they could have) as well as dancing so I tried to play tunes that would work for both listening and dancing.


Name – Artist – Album – Duration – BPM

Sweet Home Chicago – The Blues Brothers – Motion Picture Soundtrack – 7:51 – 124

Like I said this was a ‘set up’ song. Everyone was still coming in and getting settled and the sound gear was still being tuned.

Billie Jean – Pink Turtle – Back Again – 4:58 – 137

Continuing with a blues theme I played this version of Billie Jean. It’s a good version but the harmonica solo in the middle gets a bit much for dancing, which makes it perfect for when nobody’s ready to dance yet.

Red Top/Ella’s Blues/C-Jam Blues/Blow Top Blues – Barbara Morrison – By Request: Volume 2 – 3:12 – 141

Heading back into Lindyland I threw down this number which was the first that a couple of people started dancing. 


Big Fine Girl – Jimmy Witherspoon – The ‘Spoon Concerts – 4:54 – 153

Keeping with the blues I went straight to Mr. Blues himself. His vocals are fantastic and he has an awesome band backing him on these live recordings.

Sixty Minute Man – The Dominoes – Eat to the Beat – 2:30 – 130

This was hardly the dirtiest song I played but seeing as how my set ended up going for about 60 minutes once we were all in the venue, set up and ready to dance in retrospect it was appropriate.

Sister Kate – New Orleans Moonshiners – Frenchmen St. Parade – 3:31 – 116

This is a new release. I love the song Sister Kate (and yes I wish I could shimmy like her) and this is a nice slow version. I don’t have many versions of the song (the Gordon Webster version I have goes insane-fast at the end, which is just cruel and unusual punishment at the end of a lindy exchange) so this felt like a good option to open up a ‘New Orleans’ mini set. Oh yeah and check out this album, it’s awesome (it even has a track about lindy hop on it)

Moan You Moaners – Palmetto Bug Stompers – Live @ Dba – 4:46 – 126

The second of my New Orleans mini set featuring Washboard Chaz on the well…. it needs no explanation. With the washboard and two guitars you get a nice chunking bass line on this tune.

Fortunate Love – Glenn Crytzer and His Syncopators – Harlem Mad – 2:54 – 132

This is a new release and a new composition. And it counts as the third in my New Orleans mini-set as the vocalist, Meschiya Lake, is from there. It’s a seriously dirty ditty (the entire song is essentially one big ‘that’s what she said’ joke). I’m not sure how many people picked up on the baudiness, but I enjoyed myself (in bed!).


And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine – Stan Kenton – Artistry in Rhythm – 3:05 – 152

I played alot of new material in this set and wanted to get some old tracks in to balance it out a little. Stan Kenton has a bunch of really swingin’ tracks with good audio quality. This one seemed to fit the bill with the tempos heading higher.

C Jam Blues – Gordon Webster – Live in Philadelphia – 4:12 – 170

I hadn’t wanted to play any Gordon Webster as his tracks had gotten a good workout over the weekend. But I hadn’t gotten the next song cued up properly so I tossed this one down. 

Black Coffee -The Careless Lovers – From the Seattle Vintage Jazz Dance Swing/Jazz Music Video Contest

Now this was something a little bit different. The Careless Lovers are amazing – I heard them play live when I went to Camp Jitterbug last year (in the back room at the late night and then in the street after the last afternoon of the camp – when we pretty much closed the road by dancing on it). After seeing this clip online (and linking it around like crazy) I wanted to play it. However they don’t yet have a CD out so I decided to DJ it off Youtube. 🙂 It was a fast song for this point of the weekend but there were a bunch of couples out there digging it (and I think they’d seen the clip before as they were hitting the breaks just a little too easily).

Apollo Jump – Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra – Apollo Jump: Disc 1 – 3:26 – 147

After a fast unfamiliar tune I wanted to play a crowd-pleaser, slightly uptempo, to get the floor moving again. It’s a standard but I hadn’t heard it before during the weekend.

I Don’t Care Who Knows – Catherine Russell – Sentimental Streak – 3:18 – 130

I play this song a lot. It’s got a nice blues bass line, great vocals and some good piano action. It’s a great party tune and keeps the energy from Apollo Jump going.

Kitchen Man – Tuba Skinny – Six Feet Down – 3:59 – 119

Returning to New Orleans and showcasing a band that had recently visted Australia I played this version of Kitchen man. There had been a number of other Tuba Skinny songs played during the weekend but I felt that this one was worth listening too.

Mr. Rhythm – Glenn Crytzer and His Syncopators – Harlem Mad – 4:08 – 131

Another new composition featuring Meschiya Lake this is one nice cruisy number. I feel like I’m going to be playing much more of it. Oh yeah and buy the CD.

Bizet Has His Day – Les Brown & His Band of Renown – Session #55 – 2:27 – 158

This is a modern version of the song played by the new Band of Renown (no longer featuring Les Brown but still with a number of the original musicians). It was recorded in about 2002 I think and is slightly more uptempo than the most popular version of Bizet Has His Day. It’s a fucking awesome song with lots of contrast.

Song of the Volga Boatmen – Glenn Miller – The Magic of Glen Miller Unforgettable Moments – 3:26 – 125

This is one of the rare Glenn Miller tunes that swings hard. I tend to play it a fair bit, if only to proove that Glenn Miller can actually swing (I’ve found that a lot of his transcript/live recordings tend to be far superior to the stuff that he recorded for records).

Daydream – Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio – Three Cool Cats – 3:46 – 108

A slower tune before I finished off my set and another Seattle band (it seems that there was a lot of Seattle and New Orleans featured in this set).

Shake That Thing – Smoking Time Jazz Club – Smoking Time Jazz Club – 4:25 – 123

I really like this song, I really like this band and I had a really great time with this set.
Thankyou.

Although it’s been cooler lately the venue was still quite warm and muggy – I was playing second after the birthday/welcome jam. It was a fairly small crowd at the start of the night after the lesson but things picked up pretty quickly after that.

I didn’t really think I played that well – it’s my first actual dance gig in a while and I’ve been buying too much music so I really need to consolidate. There was too many new acquisitions that I wanted to work into my set. It’s also a fairly short gig so I felt like I hadn’t really found the groove before it was time to start wrapping things up. Nevertheless the floor was generally full and everybody else seemed to be having fun.

I Love Being Here With You – Barbara Morrison – Live at the 9:20 Special – 155BPM – 3:07

The teachers were using the Ernestine Anderson version in the class so I thought this would make a nice opener and get people dancing after the welcome/birthday jam.

Long Gone John – Gordon Webster – Happy When I’m With You – 144BPM – 3:57

I wanted to throw another well known tune in there to try and balance out the less new stuff that I was wanting to play. This track has almost reached overplayed status here in Sydney, but that’s cause it is quite a good track.

16 Tonnes – Jacques Hellian and Jean Louis Tristan – Swing Party – 130BPM – 2:30

Everyone knows the Tennessee Ernie Ford version of this song, though it hasn’t gotten much playtime in recent months. This french version has a very similar arrangement and went down nicely.

Tuxedo Junction – Glenn Miller Orchestra – Chesterfield Broadcasts – 112BPM – 4:28

Too slow, too muddy and too long, I should have played some early 1940’s Duke Ellington.

Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy – Stan Kenton – Intermission Riff – 124BPM – 2:36

To keep the music oldish, well-known and cut the time down I played this one.

Shout Sister Shout! – Shout Sister Shout – Hit that Jive Jack – 141BPM – 2:46

Another new acquisition and another well known song. I really like this version but I feel like the band needs a washboard (though this probably has more to do with my own washboard aspirations than anything else).

You Better Watch Yourself, Bub – Catherine Russell – Sentimental Streak – 167BPM – 2:57

I wanted to kick the pace up a bit. I’ve also been playing a lot of Catherine Russell since since I got back from the States last year. Virtually every single set of mine has one of her tracks in it.

C-Jam Blues – Gordon Webster – Live in Philadelphia – 170BPM – 4:12

Keeping the pace up and a well known song – but by the end of this one people were getting tired. The floor had started to empty out a bit so it was time to bring it back down a little.

Lavender Coffin – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra – 137BPM – 2:47

All dancers want a lavender coffin. This song’s probably my number 1 go-to when I’m trying to pack the floor again. The folk that had sat down by the end of the last number were back up dancing.

Operator, Operator – Sister Wynona Carr – Dragnet for Jesus – 119BPM – 2:49

Probably a little too slow and it sounded fairly muddy on the speakers – I should have played some Lucky Millinder or Louis Jordan.

Alright, Okay, You Win with Everyday I Have the Blues – Barbara Morrison – Live at the 9:20 Special – 130BPM – 5:27
Billie Jean – Pink Turtle – Back Again – 137BPM – 4:58

Playing these two tracks was a mistake – both 5 minutes long and high energy and by this time of night a lot of the dancers’ stamina was starting to flag. Billie Jean certainly got a few strange looks from the crowd when the lyrics started up and they realised what it was, but it’s too long and has some lengthy harmonica solos. It’s also another new acquisition and now that it’s out of my system I think I can put it on the ‘low-rotation’ list.

Let the Good Times Roll – George Gee and His Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra – Swingin Live – 150BPM – 2:32
Your Feet’s Too Big – Pugsley Buzzard – Chicago Typewriter – 124BPM – 3:24

Coming up to the end of the night I wanted to focus my attention on shorter tracks so that folk could get more dances in (particularly after the 2x5min tracks). I started dropping the energy down a bit as well before coming back up to the last song.

Ain’t Nothing Too It – Fats Waller and His Orchestra – 127BPM – 3:14
Let’s Do It – Benny Goodman – Essential Benny Goodman – 137BPM – 2:03
For Dancers Only – Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra – Life is Fine – 149BPM – 2:43
Bli Blip – Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra – Live in Swing City – 137BPM – 3:16

I finished off with For Dancers Only and Bli Blip – crowd faves and nice high energy songs.

I’m playing the same set and venue in 2 weeks time so I’ve got some work to do to consolidate and improve.