SwingDJs

Aright, I'm not a music geek, or a collector, so i was hoping some of you knowledgeable types could help me out.

I teach lindy, and want to work on call & response patterns between partners. So, I'm looking for good songs with call and response that is clear and fun to dance. Ideas? (please give specifics, song, artist, album, etc, if you know them)

Thanks!
Angelica

Angelica,

Seeing that Lindy is different than tap where call and respond works really well with... I'd say songs like Tuxedo Junction, Darktown Stratter's Ball, Stomping at the Savoy. I think they are more appropriate that they have a good rhythm.

My 2 cents.

A clear example of call and response would be in the tune "Splanky". George Gee's version on Swingin' Live is a great example. I love watching Dawn and Manu dance to that song.

Jesse

Moonmist wrote:Angelica,

Seeing that Lindy is different than tap where call and respond works really well with... I'd say songs like Tuxedo Junction, Darktown Stratter's Ball, Stomping at the Savoy. I think they are more appropriate that they have a good rhythm.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you have specific versions in mind, or think that those songs work no matter what version? (I know i've heard them all, but don't remember specifics, and feel highly clueless....)

Good rhythm is important, for sure. To give you more context, I'm specifically seeking stuff where the pattern is obvious enough that newer dancers will hear it, and WANT to play with the pattern. I want to use these for class exercises, specifically, to get people trading 4's, 8's, whatever.

JesseMiner wrote:A clear example of call and response would be in the tune "Splanky". George Gee's version on Swingin' Live is a great example. I love watching Dawn and Manu dance to that song.

Jesse

Yes, totally! Perfect example of what I'm after. And it's got Dawn written all over it.

Yea, totally forgot about Splanky.

Ang, I don't have any specific versions in mind. You just basically want something that's slow-med tempo so newbies can catch on and not trip over themselves. I would say 120-ish is good for avg. tempo.

You could check out some songs from "The chronogical Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra 1941-1945". There Jimmie has some great C&R with the rest of the orchestra.

Try songs like
"Life is fine" or "Buzz-buzz-buzz"

Actually, while Splanky is indeed awesome, it is really tough for a class. I find that everyone gets confused by the time the band starts repeating the theme. Typically, dancers can cope with 4-beat call and response, but inevitably, they start hearing the 2-beat segments of repetion and things fall apart.

Splanky is also a little disjointed for leading continous patterns. If you watch Dawn (and whoever) dance to splanky, they almost always stop "partner dancing" so that they can do footwork or body isolations. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it's not as helpfull for a class in lindy hop.

I'd really like to find something else as "naked" as the introductory theme to George Gee's splanky that isn't splanky. I'm guessing it exists somewhere, but it will be a real challenge to find it.

Any more ideas?

Charlie Barnett's "Things ain't the way they used to be" is the first song I thought about.

Not sure if this is your cup of tea, Greg, but "The Walking Blues" by Fluffy Hunter (Risqué Rhythm) has great call and response. During the chorus it is 4 beats back and forth, and during the verses it is 8 beats back and forth.

And for some really loose call and response, you have to listen to Ernestine Allen's "Let It Roll" (Let It Roll). She has a length call-and-response session with her sax player.

Just a few off the top of my head. I'll have to go through my collection more thoroughly for some other suggestions.

Jesse

Honeysuckle Rose - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella at Juan Les Pins. it's the only song in my playlist that I took the time to mark "nice call and response" so I'm sure it's good ;-0

First of all, THANK YOU for your suggestions. I haven't been participating on the board much in the last year+, so I appreciate being able to come back and immediately ask you all for goodies.

djstarr wrote:Honeysuckle Rose - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella at Juan Les Pins.

Yeah this is great and considering it is about my favorite Ella CD, I wish I had thought of it myself. Thanks for the reminder!
For those of you who are interested, Ella is basically responding to her own singing/scatting -with the drums accenting her response. This is unfortunately a little fast for on-the-spot footwork/improv within a swingout (my class), but I think I will choreograph something for our performance troupe. Thanks Brenda, I owe you many kisses.

JesseMiner wrote:"The Walking Blues" by Fluffy Hunter

Ernestine Allen's "Let It Roll"

Thanks Jesse; I was looking for swing more than JB (given my reputation, I have to work extra hard to 'keep it real' hehehe). I don't have any Ernestine Allen and I liked this.
Also, can you think of anything slower for a class?

tornredcarpet wrote:Charlie Barnett's "Things ain't the way they used to be"

Hi Jesse, I don't think we've met ...so nice to meet you.
I only have one version of Barnett doing 'Things ain't the way they used to be'. It's live and the only parts I would consider C&R kinda overlap each other. I looked on Allmusic.com to find other versions to check tempo -I was surprised by how slow Barnett's versions are. That could be perfect for teaching an improv class ...so do you have a favorite version that you'd recommend?

Again, thank you all for the suggestions -and sorry if it seems like I'm being picky, but if anyone can find some slower stuff, that would be awesome.

I'm looking into some early recordings of work songs -which is an education in itself.

Greg Avakian wrote:...but I think I will choreograph something for our performance troupe. Thanks Brenda, I owe you many kisses.

looking forward to them Greg Once you get it all finished and perform, you should video tape it and upload to youtube or the like so we could see it, that would be fun.

I just found a nice, easy ...and very available song:
Bob Wilber's version of "My Blue heaven" from the "For dancers only" CD!
... And I consulted on that album!

If you want to illustrate what trading 8s is, a great example is in Happy Go Lucky Local by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on Live in Swing City. At 3:16, the piano and bass trade 8's.

There are also good examples of riffs, the 12 bar blues structure, dynamic, and what I call "texture". As far as "fun to dance" I think it can be a little tough for beginners, but still an interesting way to stretch their dancing. It is quite slow, so leaves a little more time to play around than something at a higher tempo.