SwingDJs

Hey all,

I'm DJing a Lindy Hop competition in a few weeks, and the organizer wants their finals to be chorus and a half for each couple. With that times 7 couples, that comes out to be something like 11 choruses for one song, which could be anywhere from 6-8 minutes long.

Have any of you found a good album (probably live) that I can use as a resource to find a few suitable songs?

Good luck. Tell the organizers to hire a band next time.

What I usually do is think of some of my favorite songs like "Jumpin At The Woodside", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Diga Diga Doo", etc. and then I'll look each song up somewhere like Amazon.com that lists the duration of the song along with an audio sample. Sort the search results by longest to shortest and just start listening. If you find one that might work then buy it and listen to it all the way through...if it works, great, if not, repeat the process.

I'm assuming you're looking for something fairly upbeat and with AABA form (or some 32 bar form). And if you throw in other things like avoiding long bass, drum, piano solos then your choices really get pretty sparse.

Hope you find something that works. If all else fails there is an often-used 8min version of a song that you could use. I won't say what the name of it is...only that it rhymes with "Riding Bone".

Travis wrote:If all else fails there is an often-used 8min version of a song that you could use. I won't say what the name of it is...only that it rhymes with "Riding Bone".

Surely you mean it rhymes with "Eyein' Foam".

What tempo are you looking for, turin?

Re: live bands: you can also ask around and see if anyone happens to have recorded a band playing for just such a contest--and taken a feed straight off the board, without clapping, shouting, etc. (I'm fairly sure I have some recordings like that, but they're all a lot shorter, so they won't help you.)

turin, what sort of tempo are you looking for? From your math I'm guessing something in the 180-240-ish range.

I'd echo the hire a band sentiment.

I have very little in my collection that swings in that tempo range and is that long. Most of what I have is live concert recordings with audience noise, long bass and drum solos and sometimes not great recording quality.

I have a couple of longer, faster Chris Barber recordings off the Nixa Jazz Today box set (Mama Don't Allow and Sheik of Araby). Jeff Healey recorded a version of Tight Like That (also featuring Chris Barber) but I don't think it's quite long enough.

There's a nearly 14 minute cut version of Honeysuckle Rose jam from Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert with slightly enhanced audio that might be barely passable for a competition. It kept Freddie Green's solo. The uncut recording is about 16 minutes and is awesome to listen to but not good enough sound quality for a contest.

Toon Town Dave wrote:turin, what sort of tempo are you looking for? From your math I'm guessing something in the 180-240-ish range.

Yeah, that's about right. Probably closer to 180 than 240, honestly.

Re Live Bands: I wish. I may end up having to do two rounds and pick similar song types...

Look into Jazz At The Philharmonic.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Jazz-Phi ... sc_title_0

very long songs that swing at good tempi.

also see http://www.copaceticcomics.com/cds/58

Yes, there are great longer recordings out there, but often you end up getting a few incredibly inspiring choruses with arranged horn riffs and lots of dynamics sandwiching several other not-so-inspiring choruses with extended solos backed by a simple rhythm section. Heaven forbid you include a lengthy bass or drum solo! Trust me - I speak from experience - some couples will feel short-changed. The songs that will truly fit your criteria, such as the one alluded to rhyming with "Crying Gnome", will be few and far between - good luck with your search.

Short of getting a live band and bandleader who understands what you are looking for, I would personally recommend stringing together a few short-but-sweet hit songs which are all similar in tempo and feeling and where all of the choruses are hard-hitting and inspiring for the dancers.

That's at least what I used to do when DJing "battle-style" contests on a regular basis, including the first few Hellzapoppin' contests at the Harlem Jazz Dance Festival.

Jesse

Which version of "lying bone" is it? I haven't actually ever heard it before.

It's available on iTunes, I haven't found it on CD. It's a concert recording, there are a couple different ones. IIRC, the good one is 7:57, there's another around 7:36 that starts similarly but has some solos that wouldn't be good for a dance contest.

Slightly unrelated, but.. whatevs: the other weekend I saw Gordon Webster's band play (instead of one long song) the same song for every couple in a comp, during the shines, but with a slightly different twist (there were about 6 couples). It could have been way crap, but it was actually really good.

Live bands: win.

Toon Town Dave wrote:It's available on iTunes, I haven't found it on CD. It's a concert recording, there are a couple different ones. IIRC, the good one is 7:57, there's another around 7:36 that starts similarly but has some solos that wouldn't be good for a dance contest.

I have this live recording from 1961, where "Fryin' Stone" is 7:57.

Kid Ory's Complete Verve might do the trick. Lots of long songs on there.

Watch out for blues structured songs and extra dogfights/interludes though. You'll have to count out the bars to make sure that the 32 bars match up with the phrase changes all the way through the song.

Actually, I found some great songs on youtube from DCLX 2011. I ripped the audio off of Jonathan Stout's "Flying Home" (ironically) and it worked really well, particularly for a final.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiV8jFq9 ... ure=relmfu

When the Quail Come Back To San Quentin by Artie Shaw

Jose Tello wrote:When the Quail Come Back To San Quentin by Artie Shaw

Do you mean the 1954 recording (from "The Last Recordings") that lasts about 6 minutes and is around 185 bpm? It has a bass solo and a set of drum breaks, so some couples are going to be screwed. (It's a great recording, though. I'd totally play it at a dance.)

There's a (more commonly heard) 1940 recording, but that one is 164 bpm and about 3:20.

So. Is there another you recommend?

Oh, and here's a good thread:
http://www.swingdjs.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=280