balboa/shag music recommendations
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balboa/shag music recommendations
I'm dj'ing on Weds and have been asked by some folks competing in the NJC shag and balboa competitions to spin some stuff for them to practice to.
Anyone want to throw down some of their all time favorite balboa and shag songs?
Thanks in advance!
Anyone want to throw down some of their all time favorite balboa and shag songs?
Thanks in advance!
I don't think there is any such thing as a Balboa or a Shag song. One couple will choose to bustt out some lindy while amother will hear the song a bust out some bal. It's all a matter of how the dancers want to interprit the music.
Just play good solid swingin' music and let the couples decide if they want to lindy shag or bal.
-Kevin
Just play good solid swingin' music and let the couples decide if they want to lindy shag or bal.
-Kevin
"We called it music."
— Eddie Condon
— Eddie Condon
I don't fully disagree with kevin here at all. But, I wanted to add that I personally find that tunes with a 2/4 feel most often inspire me to bal. Basically, a "tighter" swing beat moves me in that direction. In my own collection, that includes tracks from:main_stem wrote: Just play good solid swingin' music and let the couples decide if they want to lindy shag or bal.
Fletcher Henderson
early Duke
McKinney's Cotton Pickers
Jimmie Lunceford
Horace Henderson
Bix
Red Nichols
early Basie
Andy Kirk
Claude Hopkins
Hot fives and sevens
And so on...
- funkyfreak
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thanks for the replies so far.
I'll put Bechet and Condon on my shopping list; what I've heard of Bechet so far has him at the top of the to buy right now.
While agreeing with Kevin in princple, I think Seattle is a little tricky; the 2/4 stuff with any type of a Dixie feel will have people doing Charleston; songs listed on Balboa Nation that I own (like from Lunceford's "For Dancers Only" and "Stomp it Off") people try to fast lindy to.
But I'm definitely going to play some of the faster Lunceford and watch what happens.
I'm also going to play some stuff off the Django Reinhardt and his american friends box set --- something about the guitar strum makes me want to bal. We shall see what happens......
I'll put Bechet and Condon on my shopping list; what I've heard of Bechet so far has him at the top of the to buy right now.
While agreeing with Kevin in princple, I think Seattle is a little tricky; the 2/4 stuff with any type of a Dixie feel will have people doing Charleston; songs listed on Balboa Nation that I own (like from Lunceford's "For Dancers Only" and "Stomp it Off") people try to fast lindy to.
But I'm definitely going to play some of the faster Lunceford and watch what happens.
I'm also going to play some stuff off the Django Reinhardt and his american friends box set --- something about the guitar strum makes me want to bal. We shall see what happens......
Fast songs I played last night that worked --djstarr wrote:But I'm definitely going to play some of the faster Lunceford and watch what happens.
I'm also going to play some stuff off the Django Reinhardt and his american friends box set --- something about the guitar strum makes me want to bal. We shall see what happens......
From Django Reinhardt and his american friends:
I got Rhythm (291) - Dicky Wells orchestra
Bugle Call Rag (204) - Dicky Wells orchestra
Sweet Georgia Brown (268) - Coleman Hawkins All-Star Jam Band (w/Benny Carter)
Don't be that Way (205) Chick Webb - Jazz After Hours
Avalon (230) Jimmy Lunceford - For Dancer's Only
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The Ken Burns one is a decent place to start.. Fabulous Sidney Bechet is pretty good too. I've got one of those Europe1 discs, live in '57-'58, and it's just ok.coreyj5 wrote:Speaking of Sidney Bechet, I only have one or two of his albums but would like to get into some more. Does anybody have any favorites of his that are a must have?
on LP, I've found a lot more good stuff - but I can't remember titles and don't see them on amazon...
His releases seem really incoherent, everything's on a different label with different musicians, and it's all the worse when it's cheap LP reissues with no recording information.
Sidney Bechet's Jazz in Paris; et Claude (Can't remember the rest) is a really nice disc. I've been pulling more from it in the last 2 months. Other than that the discs Kevin mentioned are a good place to start.KevinSchaper wrote:The Ken Burns one is a decent place to start.. Fabulous Sidney Bechet is pretty good too. I've got one of those Europe1 discs, live in '57-'58, and it's just ok.coreyj5 wrote:Speaking of Sidney Bechet, I only have one or two of his albums but would like to get into some more. Does anybody have any favorites of his that are a must have?
-Kevin T
"We called it music."
— Eddie Condon
— Eddie Condon
haha, thats all the artists that i LOVE to lindy hop to.Soupbone wrote:
Fletcher Henderson
early Duke
McKinney's Cotton Pickers
Jimmie Lunceford
Horace Henderson
early Basie
Andy Kirk
Claude Hopkins
And so on...
-mikey faltesek
"Dancing is the union of the body with the rhythm and the sound of the music." Al Minns in 1984
"Dancing is the union of the body with the rhythm and the sound of the music." Al Minns in 1984
Fabulous! Here's to diversity on the dance floor and personal choices about dancing!!falty411 wrote:
haha, thats all the artists that i LOVE to lindy hop to.
At least I didn't say one should only balboa to these artists, and you didn't say one should only lindy hop to these artists.
Lesson for us all: Kevin's point -- "Just play good solid swingin' music and let the couples decide if they want to lindy shag or bal."
One song I absolutely love to balboa to and is suited for beginning bal dancers is "5 months, 2 weeks, 2 days" by Louis Prima - Swing Session also has a good version of it, but I like Louis' better.gatorgal wrote:Just reviving this thread since some of the local dancers here in South Florida have asked me to play more music suited for Balboa.
Wanted to know if anyone had anymore recommendations than the ones previously mentioned.
Thanks,
Tina
Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Mr. Rhythmist Goes to Town has some great tunes on it for balboa.
Again, Django and groups inspired by him (such as Pearl Django) are great for balboa.