Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

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lipi
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Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#1 Post by lipi » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:56 pm

There was a thread 11 years ago on Lindy Exchange Classics: http://www.swingdjs.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=885

It, predictably, quickly devolved into a my-CD-collection-is-so-much-bigger-than-your-CD-collection fest. Of course that wouldn't happen in this day and age. We brag about our FLAC or ALAC collections, instead. Anyway. Before everything went to hell in a handbasket, Jesse posted this excellent list of 25 tunes he considered Lindy Exchange Classics (for the years 1999-2004):

Alright, Okay, You Win - Joe Williams (Swingin' Night At Birdland) (1962)
Bli-Blip - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Like In Swing City) (1998)
Blues For Stephanie - George Gee (Swingin' Live!) (1998)
C-Jam Blues - Lincoln Center Jazz Orcestra (Live In Swing City) (1998)
Corner Pocket - Duke Ellington/Count Basie (First Time) (1961)
Duke's Place - Ella Fitzgerald (Bluella) (1966)
Easy Does It - The Big 18 (Live Echos) (1958)
Exactly Like You - Carmen McRae (Priceless Jazz) (1957)
Face It Here It Is - Al Grey (Grey's Mood)
Goin' To Chicago - Ernestine Anderson (When The Sun Goes Down)
Hallelujah - Joe Williams/Sammy Davis Jr (Basie's Golden '58 ) (1958)
I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - Lou Rawls (Stormy Monday) (1962, not the one from "Black and Blue")
I Love Being Here With You - Erinestine Anderson (Great Moments With...) (1987)
Kansas City Riffs - Buster Smith (The Legendary Buster Smith)
Massachusetts - Maxine Sullivan (A Tribute To Andy Razaf) (1956)
Moten Swing - Oscar Peterson (Night Train) (1962)
On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Dizzy Gillespie (The Champ) (1951)
Rockhouse - Ray Charles (Blues + Jazz) (1958)
Sassy's Blues - Sarah Vaughan (Verve Jazz Masters 18 )
Smooth Sailin' - Ella Fitzgerald (Bluella) (1953)
Splanky - George Gee (Swingin' Live!) (1998)
Stormy Monday - Barbara Morrison (I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright)
Take The A-Train - Betty Roche (Take The A-Train) (1956)
Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough - Jimmy Witherspoon (Jazz Me Blues)
Wade In The Water - Eva Cassidy (Sophisticated Swing Vol 1) (1997)

Out of curiosity, I went through my library to see a) how many I had, b) how many I can recall DJ'ing recently, and c) how many I would DJ now (or, read another way: how many I've added to my "hey, play this soon!" list).

a) I have 18 out of 25! (If I allow alternate versions I have more, but that's cheap cheating. It has to be the actual recording--though it's fine if it's on a different album, of course. I don't own "Bluella", for instance, but I own both of the tracks on the full-concert albums they were culled from.) In case you're curious (if you've read this far you clearly have nothing better to do with your time, so you might as well admit you're curious), the seven I'm missing:

Face It Here It Is - Al Grey (Grey's Mood)
Goin' To Chicago - Ernestine Anderson (When The Sun Goes Down)
I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - Lou Rawls (Stormy Monday) (this is the one with piano, not with organ)
Kansas City Riffs - Buster Smith (The Legendary Buster Smith)
Sassy's Blues - Sarah Vaughan (Verve Jazz Masters 18 )
Stormy Monday - Barbara Morrison (I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright)
Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough - Jimmy Witherspoon (Jazz Me Blues)

b) 7 out of 25 I believe I've played in the past year or two:

Bli-Blip - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
Blues For Stephanie - George Gee
C-Jam Blues - Lincoln Center Jazz Orcestra
Corner Pocket - Duke Ellington/Count Basie
Massachusetts - Maxine Sullivan
On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Dizzy Gillespie
Smooth Sailin' - Ella Fitzgerald

(Casual searching of playlists took place. I might be off by one or two in either direction.)

c) That leaves 11 (25 - 7 - 7). I kinda would play *all* of these, though the more R&B-y or groovy tracks need the right venue (read: the organizers of one of the places I DJ would shake their heads and tell me to cut it out). Definitely added to my "maybe play next time" list:

Alright, Okay, You Win - Joe Williams (I've only DJ'ed the ones from "Count Basie at Newport" (1957) and "Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings" (1956).)
Duke's Place - Ella Fitzgerald (I might have DJ'ed this--I'm not sure--but not recently.)
Exactly Like You - Carmen McRae (I've never DJ'ed this!)
Hallelujah - Joe Williams/Sammy Davis Jr (I have played this before, just not in the last year or two)
Take The A-Train - Betty Roche (same)
Wade In The Water - Eva Cassidy (same--YEAH, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! I want to play it in the Folketshus, dammit!)

Things I'm less likely to play (with excuses), though I'll still put them on a "hey, consider this!" list:

Easy Does It - The Big 18 (There are Basie (1940) and Paul Tillotson (Live at Jelly Roll) recordings I enjoy more.)
I Love Being Here With You - Erinestine Anderson (I prefer Ella (1964 at Juan-Les Pins or 1964 in Japan) and Barbara Morrison (Live at the 9:20 Special).)
Moten Swing - Oscar Peterson (I prefer the Eddie Durham (1940), Kansas City Band (1995, from the Kansas City soundtrack) recordings.)
Rockhouse - Ray Charles (I've always found this a bit repetitive. It rocks hard, and I do always end up enjoying my dances to it, but...meh. Dunno. I'd rather play the far-less-lindy-able-but-I-don't-care-because-I'm-a-terrible-DJ "Ain't That Love" if I'm going to play one Ray Charles song. (If I ever get my wish of a Soul/R&B night, however, I'm *totally* playing this, though.) And if you're not a native English speaker I apologize for the craziness of that sentence before last.)
Splanky - George Gee (I will likely play one of Basie's (Live at the Sands, Breakfast Dance and Barbecue, Complete Atomic Basie) first.)

Out of the 18 I have, I would be O.K. with playing, well, 18, and I'd actually be quite happy with most of them! Good on you, Jesse-of-2004! (Hey, Jesse of 2015, or anyone else of 2015 who, unlike me, goes to exchanges: wanna post a new Top 25?)

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#2 Post by philippecrhk » Sun Jun 14, 2015 6:25 pm

Wade in the Water 530am in Folkethus you can probably get away with it !

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trev
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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#3 Post by trev » Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:57 pm

I play some of these regularly but others I can't remember even hearing before. I might look into some and bring them back this weekend 8)

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Jose Tello
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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#4 Post by Jose Tello » Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:32 pm

Wow, that was a trip down memory lane. :mrgreen:

C Jam Blues is still a classic. At least here in Seattle. Same with Splanky by Basie.
I recall hearing Last Night On the Backporch and Moan You Moaners by Palmetto Bug Stompers at some of the past Exchanges I attended. Oh, another two are Till Tom Special by Lionel Hampton and Six Appeal by Charlie Christian.

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#5 Post by lipi » Thu Jun 18, 2015 1:16 pm

trev wrote:I play some of these regularly but others I can't remember even hearing before. I might look into some and bring them back this weekend 8)
I'm not sure this will work (Spotify sharing is some sort of dark art), but I made a playlist with the 20 tracks I could find on Spotify:
https://play.spotify.com/user/wu3shu4/p ... 7HMcgwikSo

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#6 Post by turntables » Sat Jun 20, 2015 5:03 pm

Before i log in, i can see a preview of some of the songs on the playlist, however once i'm logged in i just get redirected to the home page every time :(

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#7 Post by lipi » Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:18 pm

Ugh. Stupid Spotify. Sorry. :(

I guess you'll have to make your own copy of the playlist. I just went down the original list and searched for the tracks.

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#8 Post by JesseMiner » Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:29 pm

Thanks so much for reviving my list!!! I still stand by each and every track on this list as both being defining songs for that era and absolutely favorites of mine.

Two notes:

1. What....you don't own the album The Legendary Buster Smith??!?!? That is the only one on your "don't own" list that I insist you immediately go out and purchase. Every single song on the album has such a fat soulful swinging groove, played by some fabulous musicians. One of my favorite 50s recordings. And while a bit harder to find currently, Jimmy Witherspoon's Jazz Me Blues "Best Of" is also a great album if you can find it for a reasonable price.

2. Each and every one of these songs on my list have a story and would immediate bring up memories for the dancers present. To comment briefly on your "less likely to play" list:
- "Easy Does It" by The Big 18 was Frankie Manning's warm up song where he would lead his students through the electric slide (!!!) before each workshop.
- "I Love Being Here With You" by Ernestine Anderson is THE definitive version from that era - none of the others came even remotely close. I do admit in later years that I developed an affinity for Jane Laverne Powell's version and played it often.
- "Moten Swing" by Oscar Peterson - "Night Train" was one of the first swinging trio albums to gain popularity amongst swing dancers during that era, so this version of "Moten Swing" has an important place in my list. Jenn & Justin's 2000 ALHC routine helped with its popularity as well.
- "Rockhouse Pt. 1 & 2" was a Paul Overton staple at the 9:20 Special.
- "Splanky" by George Gee - this became the definitive version that Dawn Hampton and Manu Smith (or John Dokes or Don West) would, and still do to this day, perform at big events like Swing Out New Hampshire. Plus it also had the right balance of tempo and length to become, and stay popular. The "Live At The Sands" version was the go-to when you wanted a slightly faster version, and the "Complete Atomic Basie" was for when you wanted a mellower version. Still it's George's version for me as a DJ all the way...

Maybe the Spotify URL (cut-and-paste "spotify:user:wu3shu4:playlist:2FOnLiNuFqeC7HMcgwikSo") will work better?

Thanks so much for reviving my playlist. What a great trip down memory lane. Never tire of these songs!

Jesse

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#9 Post by trev » Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:03 pm

JesseMiner wrote:1. What....you don't own the album The Legendary Buster Smith??!?!? That is the only one on your "don't own" list that I insist you immediately go out and purchase. Every single song on the album has such a fat soulful swinging groove, played by some fabulous musicians. One of my favorite 50s recordings.
Agreed! Such a fun little album - and his only one as a leader!

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#10 Post by lipi » Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:46 pm

JesseMiner wrote: 1. What....you don't own the album The Legendary Buster Smith??!?!? That is the only one on your "don't own" list that I insist you immediately go out and purchase. Every single song on the album has such a fat soulful swinging groove, played by some fabulous musicians. One of my favorite 50s recordings. And while a bit harder to find currently, Jimmy Witherspoon's Jazz Me Blues "Best Of" is also a great album if you can find it for a reasonable price.
Well, I can't disappoint you, Jesse, so I've just now ordered the Buster Smith one. :)

I want to get more Witherspoon, but I'm trying to avoid "best of" albums. I'll do a bit of research and see what kind of semi-complete-ish things are out there.
- "I Love Being Here With You" by Ernestine Anderson is THE definitive version from that era - none of the others came even remotely close. I do admit in later years that I developed an affinity for Jane Laverne Powell's version and played it often.
By the time I started dancing in SF often enough to absorb the music there, I feel like I heard the Barbara Morison version (from "Live at the 9:20 Special") a lot more. (I still mostly danced on the Peninsula during the 1999-2004 years.) Am I misremembering? It's possible.

And I never actually knew who that Jane Laverne Powell version was by (and either never asked or always ended up forgetting)--so I've ordered that, too. Thanks!
- "Rockhouse Pt. 1 & 2" was a Paul Overton staple at the 9:20 Special.
Yup! I have the same excuse as before: I only danced at the 9:20 a few times when Paul and Sharon where running it. (I did dance at the Dog House and LitP a lot, so I heard it there, I suppose.) I was more a Rob & Diane and Stanford kid, so my nostalgia music is slightly different. The first few times I went to 9:20 I *hated* the music! I was super uncomfortable dancing to this weird stuff that everyone was doing body rolls to! (But then I ended up liking it all.)

Vaguely related story from (approximately) 2000. There was a party at Swing Central in Redwood City (Rob & Diane's venue, later run by Carla Heiney, now long-closed) where we all wore name tags with the names of our favourite artist to dance to. Mine said "Ella Fitzgerald", I suspect. I had no clue who the hell the guy on Rob's tag was, though: "Sidney Bechet".

So do you have a similar list for the next ten years, by any chance? I'd be curious to see it!

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Re: Lindy Exchange Classics Redux

#11 Post by anton » Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:30 am

trev wrote:
JesseMiner wrote:1. What....you don't own the album The Legendary Buster Smith??!?!? That is the only one on your "don't own" list that I insist you immediately go out and purchase. Every single song on the album has such a fat soulful swinging groove, played by some fabulous musicians. One of my favorite 50s recordings.
Agreed! Such a fun little album - and his only one as a leader!
Here's a little playlist with 10 songs from Buster's recording career 1929-1959:

https://open.spotify.com/user/ginton/pl ... zBQQwhXIVB

He did record a few other songs under his own name in 1951 and 1953, the latter session is available on Spotify. "Leapin' in Chicago" is solid honkin'-sax rhythm and blues!

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