AZ Swing Jam with Frankie Manning and Battle of Big Bands

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fastfeet
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AZ Swing Jam with Frankie Manning and Battle of Big Bands

#1 Post by fastfeet » Mon Dec 20, 2004 5:53 am

DJs needed!!
Hello. We are putting on an absolutely huge event in Phoenix (Tempe, really) and need DJs for the just added late night dancing 1am-4 am. I am first looking for DJs that would want to trade out a full weekend pass for a couple of hours of DJing. You can e-mail me at lind-e-list@cox.net to let me know if you are interested. The details on the event are below:

The Arizona Swing Jam with Frankie Manning
January 14-16, 2005 (Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend)
@ Arizona State University
Join legendary lindy hopper Frankie Manning for a weekend of classes and dances.

THE MUSIC:
FRIDAY NIGHT in the Arizona Ballroom - 2nd floor of the Memorial Union @ ASU.
Enjoy some quality time with Frankie Manning as he shares stories from back in the day. He has great stories about touring with Count Basie, performing with Duke Ellington at the Apollo Theatre, dancing at the Savoy Ballroom, and filming some of the best Lindy Hop scenes ever made.

Then, after a dance lesson, its a swing jam session with top National and local musicians:
Josh Workman - Guitar. Josh is currently a member of the Hot Club of San Francisco and is well known as the guitarist for Indigo Swing. He has a new CD out, Jumpin' the Border that has been climbing the charts since its release. Josh’s soulful approach and deep understanding of musical language make him an in-demand sideman as well. In addition to his busy performance schedule, Josh is a contributing writer for Guitar Player Magazine.
"Hurricane" Carla Brownlee - Tenor and Baritone Sax. Hurricane Carla does it the old fashioned way. With a big 50's tenor sax sound, and punchy, sexy, and sometimes comical vocals, she'll have you dancing all night long. Carla was the sax player for the Kings of Pleasure for many years and was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 2002.
Mark Decozio - Piano. Playing an Oscar Peterson style with finesse. Considered a musicians musician and a great addition to the rhythm section.
Dwight Killian - Bass. A young phenom bass player that is regarded one of the best in Arizona and top ranked in the Country. He tours and performs locally with his band Bass Pursuit as well as being the bassist for Dennis Rowland's band. He will keep the dancers in the pocket all night long.
Dom Moio - Drums. Renown for his musicianship, his artistry with wire brushes, and his highly effective teaching methods, Dom Moio is admired by musicians and critics alike. Moio played with jazz luminaries such as Mose Allison, Herb Ellis, Ahmad Jamal and Clark Terry.
Plus - guest players and vocalists - including a SURPRISE VOCALIST that you won't want to miss (I wish I could tell).

SATURDAY NIGHT - "STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY"
in the Arizona Ballroom - 2nd floor of the memorial Union @ ASU.
Alright, this is going to be incredible! A BATTLE OF THE BIG BANDS- the Arizona Big Band featuring Dennis Rowland and the Mike Vax All-Star Big Band featuring Joe Bourne. Dennis Rowland was Count Basie's singer from 1977-1984 and will have Basie's charts for a great night of dancing. The bands will trade song for song and the dancers will vote by applause at the end of the night for the band that did the best. The band will be in top form as they compete for cash and prizes.
The battle between big bands was a long standing tradition at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.
We will be recreating a night at the Savoy, including the design of the room, in a 175x60 room with wall to wall wood flooring (compared to the Savoy's 200x50 wood floor). It will be a night that people will be talking about for a long time.

THE WORKSHOP:
CLASSES - SATURDAY AND SUNDAY DAY (See class schedule below)
During the day we have workshops with Frankie and great instructors from around the Country. We are doing something new with the workshop by tracing through African influenced dances. So, we will start with a West African dance class that forms the roots of Charleston and Lindy. We will then have classes in Charleston, Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa, Boogie Woogie, Aerials, Hip Hop, and Lindy Hip Hop.
Frankie Manning - New York. Teaching: Lindy Hop 1, 2, 3, & 4. Now over 90 years young, Frankie will delight students from beginners and experts. He will be here to share his passion and knowledge of the dance that he has helped spread for more than 70 years. The inventor of air steps in Lindy Hop, Frankie has continued to contribute to dance through his performances and/or choreography in films like "Hellzapoppin'" (1941) and "Malcolm X" (1992), and he won a Tony award for his choreography of Broadway's "Black and Blue" (1989). This is a unique opportunity to learn from one of our true national treasures and this is his only visit to Arizona.
Chris Lee - Sacramento. Teaching: Tranky Doo and Lindy - Instructors choice. After studying martial arts for 11 years, Chris discovered partner dancing in the late 1990s. He is now a choreographer, as well as a dancer for NBA Halftime Shows. In 1999 Chris established the local Savoy Swing Club. He has produced many special events, workshops, dances and camps locally and internationally and co-produced the 2001 All-Star Weekend in Sacramento, CA. While Chris makes his home in Sacramento, he travels the globe to share his love for Lindy Hop. Chris teaches lindy hop and does old film presentation that will cover historic dance greats such as The Nicholas Brothers, Buck & Bubbles, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers and modern dance greats as well.
Nate Sartain and Tertia Miyashiro -San Diego. Teaching Intermediate/Advanced Balboa. Nate and Tertia have been studying Lindy Hop for the past 8 years. In 2002-03 Nate was a member of the Rhythm Rollers, a high energy Balboa troupe based out of L.A. While Tertia was president of the San Diego Lindy Hop Society. Since their recent partnership, they have taught several Lindy Hop and Balboa workshops together in San Diego. They can also be seen performing together with the Radioland Rugcutters. Nate and Tertia are well known for their unique combination of raw energy and smooth style.
Jofflyn Valencia and Amber Villa - Orange County, CA. Teaching: Advanced Lindy and the original Big Apple. Jofflyn and Amber have been teaching Lindy Hop together for nearly 7 years. They are the in-house advanced instructors and DJs at Memories, Southern California's most popular swing club. They have taught up and down the state of California as well as the rest of the U.S.A. They have competed in past years as part of the award winning Hollywood Hornets.
Nate and Kaia Landon - Salt Lake City, UT. Teaching: Boogie Woogie. Nate and Kaia have been swing dancing for a combined total of 14 years, and have each been teaching for 6 years. Their great combination of experience, love of the music, and love of the dance has made them some the greatest and most versatile of all swing instructors in Utah. They teach all forms of swing dancing and have a special love for Boogie Woogie.
Mike Johnson and Trisha Anderson Teaching: Intermediate/ Advanced Lindy and Aerials. Mike and Trisha have been dancing in the Arizona swing scene for the past five years. Their experience includes various workshops attended in Montreal, California and Las Vegas, as well as many Arizona workshops. Competitively, they placed first at the 2002 and 2003 USO dance contest and placed sixth nationally at the 2003 American Lindy Hop Championship.
Isaac Hingley and Ashley Palmer: Teaching: Balboa - Beginning/Intermediate. Isaac and Ashley have competed and placed in Balboa and Jitterbug championships across the Country. They both reside on the board of the Arizona Swing Network and have done several performances local dance troupes. They currently teach Dances from the Big Band Era at Mesa Community College.
Steve Conrad Teaching: Lindy Hop Fundamentals. Steve was the founder of the AZ Lindy Hop Society and has been teaching over 8 years. He taught at the Desert Dance camp in Vegas and Laughlin, Carnage Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and throughout Europe. He was a choreographer and performer for the dance troupe "From the Top" which performed all over Arizona. He is also a DJ for KJZZ 91.5 FM and started the swing show "In the Groove" five years ago.
Jeff Wheatcraft - Teaching: Spins and Slides.
Jonathan Lindsay - Teaching Dips, Tricks, and Flash.
Chris Adams Teaching: Lindy Hip Hop. Chris is a dynamic dancer who can do anything. He is well known as a guest DJ at Kats Korner in Mesa and from time to time adds a bit of his hip hop flavor to the mix. Now, he will be teaching some moves that people can actually use to dance to hip hop with a partner. He is a patient teacher with a laid back style and has recently been studying Hip Hop movement with Nebellen.
Heather Hill - Teaching: with Frankie.
Ben and Ellen- Nebellen Dance Troupe Teaching: Hip Hop. Nebellen has been named "The Valley's Hippest Art Troupe" and "The Best Cutting Edge Dance Company". Nebellen brings a blend of raw movement and passion to the stage that no other dance company has. Young, energetic, and provocative only begins to describe them. An exciting experiment in dance fusion performance, Nebellen dancers arouse the audience by wedding cutting edge dance styles like house, hip-hop, martial arts, liquid, break dancing (b-boying) and raving with the control of more established dance forms. Nebellen is truly an American grown art form.
Members of Kawambe Omowale Teaching: West African Dance. Kawambe Omowale is the valley's foremost West African dance performance group. These captivating performing artists will offer a glimpse of West African culture through performance of drumming, dancing, and storytelling. Kawambe-Omowale's members have performed throughout the Southwest for the past 18 years. Members have traveled to Senegal, and The Gambia, West Africa, to study the music and dance of the Mande Cultures, and they have studied with master artists from other African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. Their class will have live drumming to provide driving rhythms.

THE SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 14th - Arizona Ballroom in the ASU Memorial Union.
6:30pm - 7:30p.m.
Stories with Frankie

7:30 pm - 12:30am - All Ages dance - Jam session with top National and local musicians.
(7:30-8:00 East Coast lesson)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15th at ASU
PE East RM 190 and PE East RM 192
10:00am -11:00am
West African Dance"The Roots of Lindy Hop" Kawambe Omowale
Spins and Slides (Int/Adv) Jeff Wheatcraft

11:15 am - 12:30pm
Lindy Fundamentals Steve and Teri
Big Apple (jazz steps of the 30's) Jofflyn and Amber

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch

1:30pm - 2:45pm
Lindy Hop w/ Frankie pt 1 Frankie Manning and Heather Hill
Int./Adv. Lindy Mike and Trisha

3:00pm - 4:15pm
Hip Hop Nebellen Dance Troupe
Boogie Woogie Nate & Kaia (Utah)

4:30pm - 5:45 pm
Lindy Hop w/ Frankie pt 2 (beg./int.) Frankie and Heather
Advanced Lindy Jofflyn & Amber (L.A.)

7:00pm -12:30am "Stompin' at the Savoy"
A battle of the big bands- the Arizona Big Band featuring Dennis Rowland versus the Extreme Decibel Big Band. We will be recreating a night at the Savoy, including the design of the giant, legendary room. Performances including a preview performance from "Ain't Misbehavin'" by the Black Theatre Troupe.
(7:00-8:00 East Coast lesson)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16th
10:00am -11:00am
Charleson Josh Leitz
Trankey Doo (Jazz Routine) Chris Lee (Sacramento)


11:15 am - 12:30pm
Lindy Hip Hop Chris Adams
Balboa Beg./Int. Isaac and Ashley

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch

1:30pm - 2:45pm
Lindy Hop w/ Frankie pt 3 (int.) Frankie and Heather
Aerials Mike and Trisha

3:00pm - 4:15pm
Dips, Tricks, and Flash Jonathan and Trisha
Balboa Int./Adv Nate & Tertia (San Diego)

4:30pm - 5:45 pm
Lindy Hop w/ Frankie pt 4 (int.+) Frankie and Heather
Lindy Hop - Instructors Choice Chris Lee (Sacramento)

Note: It is highly recommended that beginners take the Lindy Fundamentals class before Frankie's first class in order to be familiar with the swing out.
No partner needed, no experience necessary, all ages welcome

Individual classes: $12; Individual dances Friday - $10, Saturday $20
or Only $99 for the whole weekend if paid by January 10th. (35% savings).
Visit http://www.SaveTheArts.org/frankie to register or for more information.


Tickets:
Any Zia Records location statewide
Online at http://www.SavetheArts.org/frankie
or call TicketForce 480-840-0456
Battle of Big Band tickets also available at Jerry's Audio Video.

Utah_Nate
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#2 Post by Utah_Nate » Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:41 pm

Johnny Boyd made his first appearance in 5 years on Friday night! He was amazing! If you missed this event, you missed a weekend of amazing music!

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yedancer
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#3 Post by yedancer » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:14 pm

Utah_Nate wrote:Johnny Boyd made his first appearance in 5 years on Friday night! He was amazing! If you missed this event, you missed a weekend of amazing music!
Did he sit in with the band, or bring his own band, or what?
-Jeremy

It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.

Utah_Nate
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#4 Post by Utah_Nate » Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:13 am

yedancer wrote:
Utah_Nate wrote:Johnny Boyd made his first appearance in 5 years on Friday night! He was amazing! If you missed this event, you missed a weekend of amazing music!
Did he sit in with the band, or bring his own band, or what?
He sat in with the band, but Josh Workman was playing in the band. They had a great time on stage together. Great show!

julius
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#5 Post by julius » Tue Jan 18, 2005 6:01 pm

I'm more interested in the battle of the bands. I meant to go, but in the end I was too old and tired to drive 12 hours round trip for 6 hours of dancing. How was the battle?

Utah_Nate
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#6 Post by Utah_Nate » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:13 am

The battle was awesome! The Arizona Big Band with Dennis Rowland schooled the Arizona All-Stars, but the trumpet player from the All-Stars was amazing! He could blow like Cootie Williams, and was extremely humble about it. It was classic Webb/Goodman.

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CafeSavoy
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#7 Post by CafeSavoy » Thu Jan 20, 2005 2:58 pm

Utah_Nate wrote:The battle was awesome! The Arizona Big Band with Dennis Rowland schooled the Arizona All-Stars, but the trumpet player from the All-Stars was amazing! He could blow like Cootie Williams, and was extremely humble about it. It was classic Webb/Goodman.
That sounds great. Dennis Rowland played with Basie a little and i think recorded one cd as a vocalist.

Utah_Nate
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#8 Post by Utah_Nate » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:04 pm

CafeSavoy wrote:
Utah_Nate wrote:The battle was awesome! The Arizona Big Band with Dennis Rowland schooled the Arizona All-Stars, but the trumpet player from the All-Stars was amazing! He could blow like Cootie Williams, and was extremely humble about it. It was classic Webb/Goodman.
That sounds great. Dennis Rowland played with Basie a little and i think recorded one cd as a vocalist.
That's correct. He recorded "On The Road: Count Basie" in 1979. He has also recorded with Joe Sample on the "Sample This" album.

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