A Larry Levan of swing?

[Matthew]

Larry Levan (1954?-1992) is widely considered to be the greatest DJ ever. I read an article that described his personality in detail. Below are some excerpts from the article, to illustrate.

For the 2000 regulars, Larry Levan was like a god. They even tagged his late-night sessions as "Saturday Mass." He did things with records that other DJs just didn't do. He would tell a story with his music. Sometimes sending the crowd crazy and minutes later making them break down and cry. There was, and still is, no DJ like him. He was an insanely talented genius, both behind the turntables and in the studio. And he made the Paradise Garage the legend that it is.

"I've seen nights where everyone was rushing around to get things open and they'd forget something like cleaning the mirror-balls. It'd be one o'clock and Larry would run on to the dancefloor with a ladder to clean all six mirror-balls. The record would run out and everyone would be standing there, just waiting. Not booing, not mad, just waiting. And when he finished, he'd go up and put the next record on the people would go mad. They loved that. The fact that even though he was the DJ, he'd spend half an hour cleaning all the mirror-balls."

"He built sets with stories that went into one another," explains Kevorkian. "I'm not saying that he only played vocals, but there was a concept there that he studied and became an amazing practitioner of. He was able to truly use songs, and when I say songs, I mean songs. I'm, talking about songs with a voice speaking to you and inspiring you, sot some crappy sample repeating 175 times until you're made to feel like you're every bit as stupid because it has to be repeated that many times until you understand it. Songs with lyrics. And he used those lyrics to talk to people. It was very, very common for people on the dancfloor to fell like he was talking to them directly through the record. And was a two-way thing. Not just the DJ saying, 'Here is the law,' or the crowd saying, 'We'll only listen to this,' there was an unspoken mental energy flowing back and forth."

Is there such a swing DJ? While swing dancing, have you experienced moments like those? Would you like to be a swing DJ like that?
[/quote]

[gatorgal]

Larry Levan (1954?-1992) is widely considered to be the greatest DJ ever.

Who?

Tina

[Nate Dogg]

"I've seen nights where everyone was rushing around to get things open and they'd forget something like cleaning the mirror-balls. It'd be one o'clock and Larry would run on to the dancefloor with a ladder to clean all six mirror-balls.

A few of our venues have disco balls (Go Dance, Footworks), perhaps if I made an effort to clean them before the gigs, I too could be on my way to greatness.

[Platypus]

We have a swing night at Numbers Night Club in Houston, which has a 25 year history of playing alternative, goth, and other music that inspires cult-like awe. We get a smidgeon of that awe, at least until we explain what we are really doing up in the booth.

[gatorgal]

"I've seen nights where everyone was rushing around to get things open and they'd forget something like cleaning the mirror-balls. It'd be one o'clock and Larry would run on to the dancefloor with a ladder to clean all six mirror-balls.

A few of our venues have disco balls (Go Dance, Footworks), perhaps if I made an effort to clean them before the gigs, I too could be on my what to greatness.

Personally I believe a disco ball will lead you to all kinds of greatness, but that's just me.

Tina

[Dr. Feelgood]

I consider myself fortunate to have been around to experience the
genius that was Larry Levan. Larry would do all those things and
much more, musically. You could tell what kind of a mood he was
in if you listened to the songs he would play. I have to agree that he
was the best. Paradise's Garage would be like a cathedral when this
man was spinning. Part of his legend, was that he could play anything -
absolutely anything and make it work. The expression, "You had to be
there", was never more appropriate. This guy played disco, house,
tracks, rock, blues, gospel...you name it! All at a dance club. It was
simply amazing.


Is there a swing DJ like this? Other than cleaning up the place and
letting a song play all the way out...nope. There are some really good
DJ's among us, but we've got a long way to go before we can create a
mood like this man did.

[coldnight]

*snip!*

Is there such a swing DJ? While swing dancing, have you experienced moments like those? Would you like to be a swing DJ like that?

I have had moments like that, durring swing/jump blues dancing. A moment that is almost out-of-time. All that exists is you, your partner and the band. The people around disapear and all that is there is connection and feeling. Its very amazing. I wish it would happen more.

I've never had it happen with a DJ, only with the band...

[Nate Dogg]

The front page of AllMusic was showcasing a Larry Levan album today, I wonder what the CD's version of "Smack Dab in the Middle" sounds like


Review by John Bush
Larry Levan is one of the few legendary figures in contemporary dance music, a DJ and remixer whose reliance on audiophile-level sound, in both the clubs he played and the records he selected, set a standard that, according to many witnesses, has never been equalled. In the years after his death in 1992, dance fans were forced to content themselves with his remix work, which admittedly, made for some great post-productions. Despite the lack of material, his legend has persisted primarily as a DJ, and primarily for his residency at one of the most revered clubs in the history of dance, the Paradise Garage. And in late 2000, more than 20 years after it was recorded, a relic from another era appeared on the British rare groove label Strut Records. High expectations notwithstanding, Levan comes through with a stunning, invigorating 80-minute set of disco movers and sweet Philly soul, the performances almost as uplifting and the bass almost as chunky as they must've sounded at the original SoHo nightspot. Though it's virtually untouched by Levan's notorious genre-bending (the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was a Garage favorite), Live at the Paradise Garage is one of the best, and best-sounding, documents of the disco era ever produced. And it's a rare latter-day disco fan who will have heard many of these tracks before; though many of the artists are familiar (the Supremes, Cher, Shalamar, the Chi-Lites, Ashford & Simpson), Levan selected songs with great productions or the right tone to reflect his moods. Though the spotlight is clearly on Levan's mixing, a few highlights do appear, including "Angel in My Pocket" by Change, "By the Way You Dance (I Never Knew It Was You)" by Bunny Sigler, and "Get on the Funk Train" by Giorgio Moroder's Munich Machine. Clearly a labor of love (as well as an invaluable musical and historical document) from the people at Strut, Live at the Paradise Garage includes a complete history of both the club and Levan himself, as well as dozens of photos and reminiscences from inheritors like François Kevorkian, Danny Tenaglia, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit included in its 36-page book.


Tracks
1 Bourgié Bourgié Ashford & Simpson 5:47
2 It's Music Damon Harris 4:53
3 At Midnight T Connection 5:45
4 Put Your Body in It Stephanie Mills 6:05
5 Dreaming a Dream Crown Heights Affair 3:05
6 By the Way You Dance (I Never Knew It Was You) Bunny Sigler 6:51
7 Right in the Socket Shalamar 3:02
8 Take Me Home Cher 6:09
9 Pick Me up, I'll Dance Melba Moore 3:56
10 Get on the Funk Train Munich Machine 4:55
11 Here We Go Again People's Choice 3:19
12 Here We Go Again [Cont.] People's Choice :28
13 Bad Mouthin' Motown Sounds 4:57
14 Let Yourself Go Supremes 3:47
15 Angel in My Pocket Change ... 5:28
Performed by: Change, Goody Music Orchestra
16 Smack Dab in the Middle Janice McClain 4:46
17 Sun... Sun... Sun... Jakki 2:37
18 Trinidad John Gibbs ... 4:07
Performed by: John Gibbs, U.S. Steel Band,
19 My First Mistake Chi-Lites 3:36
20 Erucu Jermaine Jackson 5:42

[JesseMiner]

Thanks for posting this. Larry Levan was an amazing DJ and definitely an inspiration to me. Janice McClain's "Smack Dab in the Middle" is a fun catchy tune (I listen to it all the time on my iPod) but most definitely a different song than the one popularized by Joe Williams.

Jesse

[Nate Dogg]

Cool, I think I am going to pick the album up. So, I can get just a taste of what all the hype is about.

Nathan

[Matthew]

I may buy it just to hear the flow, which is a rather unusual reason. Thanks.