If you could book any modern act...?

[remysun]

I'm trying to brainstorm for live jazz/swing acts for next year's Detroit International Jazz Festival Labor Day weekend. I've been talking to the organizers about getting portable dance floors, since it is one of the largest free jazz festivals, if not the biggest.

And I'm thinking, what could be the greatest band to dance to? Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played at a competing festival not too far away. They could book Pink Martini, but what about a Johnny Boyd/Indigio Swing reunion? Any of the tribute big bands, etc.

What would be that cool, even cooler?

[Matthew]

I'd suggest Duke Heitger. Probably not what you're looking for, but that's who would get me interested in attending.

[Eyeball]

Do you need someone with name value or do you need someone good? Which will pull in more attendees?

Why do you still want to bother with that stillborn Neo crap? It really never was much good and now it's kind of a joke - county fair type music for the rubes.

[kbuxton]

I love Pink Martini live, but they typically play about one swing song a night (with the rest being ballads and salsa generally).

[remysun]

Do you need someone with name value or do you need someone good? Which will pull in more attendees?

The discussion's the important thing. Give your reasons: name value, someone good, more attendees.... The festival has branched out in recent years. Last year, Joan Osborne, Marcia Ball, and Dr. John played. This year they did a thing with some of the Miracles, Herbie Hancock, Regina Carter, Medenski, Martin, and Wood, Dave Brubeck. I'm glad I caught the late Lou Rawls a couple years ago.

So really, anything goes, although I guess the real test is the danceability factor, since that's why we're doing this.

[remysun]

I love Pink Martini live, but they typically play about one swing song a night (with the rest being ballads and salsa generally).

Yeah, they played the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in June. I sat next to China's cousin. And although they don't swing that much, it's an example of an opportunity since the orchestra's size is otherwise cost prohibitive.

[julius]

If you want a hot dance band for swing era music, contact "Campus Five" on this forum. Also contact "Albert System". Both run bands that lots of dancers on the west and east coast enjoy.

Hire Evan Christopher and Duke Heitger, two of the best New Orleans-style players around. They will grab other good players to form a band.

Get Diana Krall. One billion people will show up at the festival. She is easily the best known living jazz artist.

The ghost bands, as a rule, are not good for dancing.

[CMU Matt]

Make sure you don't ignore our local favorites, Phil Ogilvie's Rhythm Kings. Granted they have a large selection of 20's numbers as well, but they are too hott not to consider.

[remysun]

Why do you still want to bother with that stillborn Neo crap?

It's nothing to do with Neo-Swing, the only condition is that the band is has a possibility of appearing, so that rules out fantasy stuff like a Rat Pack reunion with Glenn Miller leading the orchestra.

If you know an act that tells it like it is, or how it used to be, I'd like to know about it. If you got a great idea for a Battle of the Bands, this is the space.

[LindyChef]

Not to rain on your parade, but many dancers couldn't care a whole lot about a live musician, even if they are free. Since it's first and foremost an event with broad general appeal (and the "jazz" lavel seems to be used a bit loosely) something with neo name recognition might be your best bet.

I think it would help if you really defined what you wanted from the artist, what you want from the event, what would the goals be for putting out a floor. Right now I can't really understand what your intent is.

[Lawrence]

Not to rain on your parade, but many dancers couldn't care a whole lot about a live musician, even if they are free. Since it's first and foremost an event with broad general appeal (and the "jazz" lavel seems to be used a bit loosely) something with neo name recognition might be your best bet.

I think it would help if you really defined what you wanted from the artist, what you want from the event, what would the goals be for putting out a floor. Right now I can't really understand what your intent is.

I disagree that dancers don't care about a live band. Many prefer a bad live band to a great DJ.

That said, I doubt that one band would inspire people to go out of there way to make a trip to Detroit (of all places); you moreso need to rely on just luck that they want to travel around that time and then draw them to your event as opposed to a different event across the country around that time period.

Thus, I do agree with Martin in the sense that you are kinda asking the wrong question because, although most people do prefer live music, most people just won't go out of the way to book their travel based purely on one band.

That said, the band for the Basie Centennial event in NYC was the closet thing you got to a "must see" modern band. But the draw there was not just the band, but the entire celebration surrounding the event.

[remysun]

I think it would help if you really defined what you wanted from the artist, what you want from the event, what would the goals be for putting out a floor. Right now I can't really understand what your intent is.

To various degrees, you can pretty much dance to anything playing on the six stages, although fusion is kind of hard, and instrumental groups tend to keep a faster tempo. So my intent would be to suggest some acts that stay mid tempo, so we can encourage beginners. For me, I missed out when Indigo Swing played the State Theater (now Fillmore Detroit) in '98 or '99. Since, they are a heavy part of some DJs repetoire, I think something like that would be perfect, since neo swing is usually too fast.

Now if there are acts that will pull people from out of town, I'm sure the city of Detroit would like them as well. The goal is to mix some great dancing with great music, because since the 2005 revamp, the setting is perfect, with the music echoing between canyons of art deco skyscrapers and headliners like Dr. John letting it all out with our Hard Rock Cafe as a backdrop.

And there was my favorite moment, that I told the former Michigan governor and Canadian ambassador, James Blanchard, about the very next day.

There was a New Orleans jazz band that started playing out by the Spirit of Detroit statue. The music echoed off the canyon of skyscrapers and a small crowd gathered to form the second line, with some of the women wearing those plastic beads. We started marching and the cops held up traffic so we could cross Jefferson. That's when I noticed Nick and Kat from CMU (at the time), and they were lapping the band with swingouts and charleston kicks.

The band heads into Hart Plaza, and there was this little kid down by the fountain with a toy saxophone whistle. Kid sees the band, band sees the kid, and they make a beeline for him. Kid's excited, and he starts bopping his head going, "Toot, toot, toot!" The band encircles him and they're going, "Toot, Toot, Toot!" They're jamming with this kid, crowds all around, and I grab a beaded lady who's never done lindy before in her life and I'm dancing with her, beads flying everywhere, and a photographer's snapping pics for the Free Press....

The only bad thing was we felt so guilty for having so much fun because Katrina hit just a week before.

The second line's fun, so that staying, there's a good chance of setting up at least a couple of portable floors, so we can use our dance shoes. I'll be inviting some locals who do Chicago Steppin' and Detroit Bop. I just want to be sure of a band that will get people "Dancing in the Streets".

[Toon Town Dave]

Honestly, if you're looking to repeat what you just described, there's no way that's going to happen just by getting the right band. It sounds like one of those organic things that just happened. The magic combination of the right band, the right tune, the right crowd, mood and circumstances is what it'll take. Sort of like jams at dances, they just can't be planned.

I'll echo what others are saying that a single band is not going to draw people from afar. Certainly not me and I generally cherry pick the events I go to based on the live music line-up. Maybe if you got a battle of the bands like George Gee versus the Boilermakers, I'd consider it but I'd probably need more incentive.

[remysun]

I figured unless there's another Django Reinhardt waiting to reemerge that the buzz of one performer or band is not going to be the draw. With 260 national artists, 160 local artists and 260 student musicians in this past year's lineup, there is no lack of programming. I do feel, however, that is important to know what's of interest outside of my sphere. I also think it's important to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of different acts. The last thing I'd ever want is to neglect something like making sure the music wasn't too fast, too boring, too eclectic, too Neo?!

Or just neglecting the opportunity to have something so cool, I could never forgive myself for letting the opportunity slip.

For right now, I'd like to know more about Duke Heitger, outside of Squirrel Nut Zippers, if anyone can enlighten me. Does he stay with hot swing, switch to dixieland, becomes more classic big band, etc.? SNZ just played over the summer to a packed crowd at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, MI. Would the Zippers be too Neo?

I just feel bad that I'm debating the worthiness of the idea, rather than ideas for acts.

http://www.detroitjazzfest.com

[Lawrence]

Would the Zippers be too Neo?

The Squirrel Nut Zippers are a Alternative Pop Rock band with a mild Hot Jazz influences. They were a crucial bridge band that helped revive interest in Swing, and it is good that they existed for that reason, but they are NOT a Lindy or Swing band, no less a Lindy or Swing band that would entice a huge swing dancer audience to go to Detroit. Despite their popularity and role as a bridge band, they actually barely qualify as Neo Swing. To abuse the metaphor, they linger on the OTHER side of the bridge between modern pop and swing music, and they spend most of their time on the other riverbank, not on the bridge.