For Dancers Only! A Lindy Hop Compilation

Everything about the swinging music we love to DJ

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kitkat
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#46 Post by kitkat » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:02 pm

Actually, I'm waiting to hear clips, too...I like to dance fast, so picking slow music is an ordeal for me. A lot of it sounds boring when I'm sitting around with a portable CD player cataloguing. That very same stuff might be a, "What was that?" song if I were out dancing to it, not comparing it to faster songs by the same band.

In other words, I like hearing slow songs that've already been chosen by other dancers who don't have a prejudiced ear while sitting down the way I do.

Of course, I'd still have to like the style...but I'm always up for increasing number of vocal tracks & slow songs within the kind of music I like.

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smunky
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#47 Post by smunky » Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:36 pm

got my copy yesterday! nice work guys, what i have heard so far has been great.

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BigBandDJay
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#48 Post by BigBandDJay » Sun Jan 02, 2005 10:19 pm

Bought a copy at New Years Eve Dance Extravaganza in Danvers yesterday and listened to it on the way home.

Good stuff, expanded my collection of slower tempo/small group stuff.

Especially like that Joe Williams version of "Four or Five Times."

The only criticism I would give would be that I wish it had more styles and tempos in the selections.

That being said, definately worth my $12.

mousethief
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#49 Post by mousethief » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:58 am

I got the CD the other day. First, let me tell you that this is a wonderful opportunity for you all and I'm glad you had the balls to run with this. So please bear in my that my thoughts below were made with good purpose.

I didn't hate the CD - it's good music - but I probably won't spin much of it either. I think you got painted into a corner by virtue of the Chiaroscuro content.

Overall, I liked the material you all selected. In fact, I had eyeballed a few of the pieces for my private collection (Whorehouse, for one). I just disagree as to whether or not it's a good vehicle for Lindy Hoppers. I have to agree with Reuben in that the marketing put me off. Very few of the songs made me want to dance at all. Especially the title cut of "FDO."

Several of the songs take a long time to build. Some just die midsong and then come back. Only 1 or 2 songs made me want to dance and of those, I wouldn't have set down a drink to cut a rug. Most of the songs made me want to get a drink and hang out. Like Artie Shaw said, "I made it good enough to listen to."

Kalman
"The cause of reform is hurt, not helped, when an activist makes an idiotic suggestion."

hep2hop
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#50 Post by hep2hop » Fri Jan 07, 2005 9:26 am

I got the CD yesterday, and I can say that it was worth the money. There are a few songs that I will definitely put on my A-list, and play regularly at my Blues-Swing dance in Orlando. Most notably I like the Clark Terry combo version of Everyday I Have the Blues. Although Joe Williams is one of my favorite artists, I feel like his version is a bit played out, so it is good to have an alternative. I think most good dancers will also appreciate Blue Mance, as it rivals some favorite Oscar Peterson songs. Speaking of Joe Williams, his version Four or Five Times is also a good addition to my collection. Most of the other songs I will throw in on an occasional basis to jazz things up. There were a few songs that didn’t do anything for me, however, which I probably will not play. One of these was the first song Call It Whatchawanna. I didn’t feel like it had much punch to it, and it was too straight ahead. The only criticism I have is that this was probably not a good song to start the whole CD with. It almost put me off the whole thing when I first listened to it. Overall, though, I appreciate you guys putting together a CD with some good material that most people won’t be too familiar with. Thanks!

Chris

Nando
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#51 Post by Nando » Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:49 am

I agree on the Whatchawanna track. At least it shouldn't have been first. It just so happened that I went searching for sound clips on AllMusic on the tracks and that was the first one I got. It made me a little tentative on getting the album. That and I wanted to buy half the albums that the tracks came from

However, I just bought the album last week after talking to Jesse and Dave and realized there was still a lot of value in getting the song since Manu had a personal hand in editing several tracks so that they were different than on their original CDs.

I enjoyed the majority of the album. I can't really see myself playing the CD in NY though since I've heard some of these songs so many times during Dave's sets in the past couple of months while he's been promoting the CD.

There is a ton of great stuff on there though. I totally recommend giving it a listen.
Last edited by Nando on Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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GemZombie
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#52 Post by GemZombie » Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:43 am

One thing that interests me. I've noted a few folks have been excited about the "edited" versions of these songs. I understand how that could be useful in a dance environment, heck I've edited a few songs myself, however I'm a purist, and I cringe at the thought of not having the full original song.

Anyone else feel like that, or am I just musically Anal Retentive?

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CafeSavoy
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#53 Post by CafeSavoy » Sun Jan 09, 2005 1:36 pm

GemZombie wrote:One thing that interests me. I've noted a few folks have been excited about the "edited" versions of these songs. I understand how that could be useful in a dance environment, heck I've edited a few songs myself, however I'm a purist, and I cringe at the thought of not having the full original song.

Anyone else feel like that, or am I just musically Anal Retentive?
The originals are available; they are still in print. I have a bunch of them myself. But you would have to buy them separately.

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JesseMiner
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#54 Post by JesseMiner » Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:26 pm

Here is a listing of all of the original source albums in case anyone wants to pick them up:

1. Al Grey - The New Al Grey Quintet ($11.95)
2. Jay McShann - Some Blues ($14.95)
3. The Clark Terry Quintet - Live On QE2 ($14.95)
4. Bob Wilber and Kenny Davern - Summit Reunion (1992) ($11.95)
5. The Junior Mance Trio - Blue Mance ($11.95)
6. Milt Hinton - Old Man Time ($19.95)
7. Buck Clayton - Jam Session #1 ($11.95)
8. Bobby Hackett - Live At The Roosevelt Grill (Vol. 1) ($14.95)
9. The Red Holloway Quintet with guest O.C. Smith - Standing Room Only ($14.95)
10. Dave Glasser - Begin Again ($14.95)
11. Ralph Sutton & Ruby Braff - R&R ($14.95)
12. Ralph Sutton and Jay McShann - Last of the Whorehouse Piano Players ($14.95)
13. Clark Terry - The Clark Terry Spacemen ($11.95)

I've been thoroughly enjoying them all! :)

Jesse

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GemZombie
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#55 Post by GemZombie » Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:57 pm

[edited from original post, which came out all wrong]

I listened to the samples provided from each of the artists, some were clips of the actual songs included on your compliation, others weren't.

Based on that, I can't say I will be picking up the compilation, it just doesn't jive with my dance music tastes, and I have tons of that kind of music at my disposal at the radio station if I'm bitten by the jazz bug and want a listen.

I'm quite sure it's a good collection for a lot of people though, so once again good job, and hopefully there will be other volumes with perhaps other flavors of "lindy hop" music.

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Henry Hui Hui
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#56 Post by Henry Hui Hui » Mon Jan 10, 2005 8:35 pm

Just got my copy. Enjoyed most of the tracks. Will probably get a lot of use over summer, good for warm nites. The tempo's make it esp good for the after class dances, as it gives the newer dances something easier paced to find there feet to.

Wish I had had it last night, the air-con in the venue couldn't keep up with the 30 deg C temp and it was like an oven inside. Needed all the cruisey tracks I could find

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Swifty
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#57 Post by Swifty » Tue Jan 11, 2005 8:37 am

JesseMiner wrote:13. Clark Terry - The Clark Terry Spacemen ($11.95)

I've been thoroughly enjoying them all! :)

Jesse
I got this album a while back (for the cut of "Jones") but really never use it to spin from. It's still great stuff though.

hep2hop
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#58 Post by hep2hop » Tue Jan 11, 2005 9:19 am

"One thing that interests me. I've noted a few folks have been excited about the "edited" versions of these songs. I understand how that could be useful in a dance environment, heck I've edited a few songs myself, however I'm a purist, and I cringe at the thought of not having the full original song."

I thought the edits were very well done. I didn't notice any break in the songs I listened to. Personally, I think extended bass and drum solos usually kill a song for dancing, so I don't play songs that have them. Bass solos are usually like huge black holes in the middle of a song, and drum solos are very difficult to dance to if your not a tap dancer, so I would be happy to get rid of them if it can be done transparently. Actually, there are a lot of songs by Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson, and other jazz artists that I would like to edit so I can play them. Can anyone suggest a good but cheap editing software?

Chris

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gatorgal
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#59 Post by gatorgal » Tue Jan 11, 2005 4:17 pm

Jesse - will you be bringing any copies for sale to SoFlex?

Tina 8)
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Serg
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#60 Post by Serg » Tue Jan 11, 2005 4:50 pm

gatorgal wrote:Jesse - will you be bringing any copies for sale to SoFlex?

Tina 8)
Tina Jesse will be bringing some 10 copies with him. Jump on it early or it will over soon.

Serg

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