SwingDJs

I keep getting requests for salsa, which is pretty popular here. I'm not really into salsa, but I'd like to get something people will appreciate, not just the "In the Mood" of that genre. Are there any salsa songs or CDs that are especially popular among dancers in your scene?

Why not just remind them that they are at a Swing dance venue/night.

I'm sure there is no shortage of Salsa venues/nights in South Florida.

You could play some of Tito Puente versions of jazz standards such as "Corner Pocket". Or maybe Mario Bauza's version of mack the knife, "jack the knife, mambo." Or you could go old school and play the Machito Orchestra with Will Bradley, Flip Phillips, and Ella Fitzgerald doing "one o'clock leap." he also does a chris columbus.

Thanks, those are nice suggestions. I'll have to check them out.

As for telling them it's a swing night and not a salsa night - I'm expected to honor requests (there's an announcement about it), so I'm not in a very good position to refuse to play salsa, even though I'd like to. Also, this area has very broad tastes. On any given night, you're likely to hear things like Basie, Elvis, Prince, and Outkast, and that kind of range makes it hard to refuse anything.

CafeSavoy wrote:Or you could go old school and play the Machito Orchestra with Will Bradley, Flip Phillips, and Ella Fitzgerald doing "one o'clock leap." he also does a chris columbus.

There is a version of "Flying Home" by Machito on the album: "The Mambo Kings"

Matthew wrote:Thanks, those are nice suggestions. I'll have to check them out.

As for telling them it's a swing night and not a salsa night - I'm expected to honor requests (there's an announcement about it), so I'm not in a very good position to refuse to play salsa, even though I'd like to. Also, this area has very broad tastes. On any given night, you're likely to hear things like Basie, Elvis, Prince, and Outkast, and that kind of range makes it hard to refuse anything.

So, is it a swing night and a swing venue? If so, why are you expected to play non-swing?

If it is not a swing venie, why is a swing dj working there? Or do you do both swing DJ'ing and general purpose DJ'ing, too?

There is a song called "Stone Cold Dead in the Market" that has been recorded by various artists including Ella Fitzgerald. The song is a Mambo. If you use the Ella version, it shouldn't feel to badly out of place for a non-swing song.

Also:

Who Put the Ungh in the Mambo - Treniers - Those Crazy Treniers (45 rpm Lp)
Mishugana Mambo - Slim Gaillard - Laughing in Rhythm
Mambo Boogie - Otis, Johnny Orchestra - R & B years 1951

You can also use "Tequila" by the Champs. That song is on several of their albums.

(Given all of the non-swing music that gets played at swing nights nowadays I can easily understand why someone would make a Salsa request). If the DJ is playing stuff like "Don't worry be happy" or some disco tune. Why not a Mambo while you are at it ?

When I visited the swing dance scene in Madrid back in 1998, they did the Shim Sham to Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5".


Henry Brun & The Latin Playerz - El Tren de Bernardo [5:44] - Spiritual Awakenings (It's a Salsa version of Take the 'A' train).