Jam Circles

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Lawrence · #31 Post by **Lawrence** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 1:02 pm

mousethief wrote:BONG.

(Damn! I KNEW I shouldn't have gone on after the dancing poodle....)

mousethief · #32 Post by **mousethief** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 3:52 pm

The version of "Well Git it" used for Dog Pile or whatever was killed but I don't own it. A Tommy Dorsey version?

Kalman

Soma-Guy · #33 Post by **Soma-Guy** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 5:20 pm

djstarr wrote: I just catalogued Earl Hines Chronogical 1937-39 today; I really dig the last half of the recording with XYZ, GT Stomp, and the piano solo stuff.

Aw come on Brenda! XYZ and GT Stomp are sooooo August 2003! Get with the times girl!

AlekseyKosygin · #34 Post by **AlekseyKosygin** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 8:57 pm

Drew wrote:"Cotton Tail" and "Woodside" are played as much as they are for a reason: They're freaking good. They will never be played out, but it's better to dig a little deeper and find something that doesn't get as much play.

I know that this is kind of blasphemous, but I never thought Cottontail was all that...altho the Ellington/Whitey's clip is pretty sick...

and Woodside is one of Basie's weaker ones, give me Swingin' The Blues any day over that...

You can't really go wrong with Traffic Jam but once again I don't there's a reason for anything get overplayed with the vast amount of explosive swing songs out there...

CafeSavoy · #35 Post by **CafeSavoy** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 10:42 pm

AlekseyKosygin wrote:and Woodside is one of Basie's weaker ones, give me Swingin' The Blues any day over that...

what songs do you think are stronger than woodside?

djstarr · #36 Post by **djstarr** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:57 am

I listened to Now You Has Jazz - Louis Armstrong MGM soundtrack today; there is a cut called J.T. Jive at around 300 bpm that I'm going to try for a jam; I have not been too successful at inspiring jams up to now.

I also really like "Piano Man" from the Hines '37-'39 - it violates Reuben's no vocal rule: "he's a Buddha big and cool.....Swing it Fatha Hines"; but we are having a workshop with Sylvia Sykes and Jason C. this weekend, plus a solo charleston lesson from Chris Chapman before the Sat night dance; so I think I'm going to play it.

There are also a lot of good Charleston cuts from the Now You Has Jazz album - the only problem is that I'm only dj'ing for an hour Sat. night.......

djstarr · #37 Post by **djstarr** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:58 am

Soma-Guy wrote:
djstarr wrote: I just catalogued Earl Hines Chronogical 1937-39 today; I really dig the last half of the recording with XYZ, GT Stomp, and the piano solo stuff.

Aw come on Brenda! XYZ and GT Stomp are sooooo August 2003! Get with the times girl!

you know I'm a late adopter don't you?

SpuzBal · #38 Post by **SpuzBal** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:22 am

djstarr wrote:I also really like "Piano Man" from the Hines '37-'39 - it violates Reuben's no vocal rule: "he's a Buddha big and cool.....Swing it Fatha Hines"

If I'm not mistaken, that line sounds to me like it's actually saying something about Boola. Apparently, "Boola" was a name used by black historians to symbolize the their race (Click).

Quoth Ellington:

"If they want to tell you that Negroes took part in this or that event, they will say 'Boola was there.'"

I can't make out the other two words, however. The Krupa version (titled "Drummin' Man") says, "He's a cowhide-kickin' fool," but I suppose that that isn't much help here.

djstarr · #39 Post by **djstarr** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 2:48 am

thanks, on second listen I agree with you.

this is what I hear so far:
"Piano Man, Piano Man,
Theres no one who swings those ivories like he can,
all about trylogy he knows how to think <maybe>
but about pianology, he's really keen, <maybe>
Piano Man, Piano Man, on those ivories he really shines,
See that man there on the stool,
He's a boola big and cool,
Swing it Fatha Hines!"

the second and third lines are suspect - anyone know the real lyrics?

and Joel wears a Buddha around his neck - it's a little private joke between us - I get to rub the Buddha when he's wearing it - too bad the lyrics aren't really "He's a Buddha big and cool".

AlekseyKosygin · #40 Post by **AlekseyKosygin** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 6:54 am

CafeSavoy wrote:
AlekseyKosygin wrote:and Woodside is one of Basie's weaker ones, give me Swingin' The Blues any day over that...
what songs do you think are stronger than woodside?

i didn't mean that woodside wasn't strong as in "powerful", i just happen to think these are just powerful but are also better musically...swingin' the blues, yeah man, and red bank boogie...all of the first recorded versions of these songs...

mousethief · #41 Post by **mousethief** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:49 am

I love "Woodside" but I also enjoy "Shout & Feel It" (also overplayed), "Out The Window," "Swingin' The Blues"...

Kalman

main_stem · #42 Post by **main_stem** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 9:36 am

djstarr wrote:I listened to Now You Has Jazz - Louis Armstrong MGM soundtrack today; there is a cut called J.T. Jive at around 300 bpm that I'm going to try for a jam; I have not been too successful at inspiring jams up to now.

I just let them happen (jams). If I play somehting that inspires people to bust out great. But, deliberately trying to get people to start a jam usually ends up falling flat in my experience.

-Kevin

SpuzBal · #43 Post by **SpuzBal** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:03 pm

djstarr wrote: Theres no one who swings those ivories like he can,
all about trylogy he knows how to think <maybe>
but about pianology, he's really keen, <maybe>

I think it's:

"All about biology, he knows not a thing
But of piano-ology, he's really king."

djstarr · #44 Post by **djstarr** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:37 pm

Ryan, you are right - so here are the lyrics - also it's "spanks" instead of "swings"

"Piano Man, Piano Man,
There's no one who spanks those ivories like he can,
All about biology he knows not a thing
But of piano-ology, he's really king.
Piano Man, Piano Man, on those ivories he really shines,
See that man there on the stool,
He's a boola big and cool......,
Swing it Fatha Hines!"

Lawrence · #45 Post by **Lawrence** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:54 pm

main_stem wrote:
djstarr wrote:I listened to Now You Has Jazz - Louis Armstrong MGM soundtrack today; there is a cut called J.T. Jive at around 300 bpm that I'm going to try for a jam; I have not been too successful at inspiring jams up to now.
I just let them happen (jams). If I play somehting that inspires people to bust out great. But, deliberately trying to get people to start a jam usually ends up falling flat in my experience.

-Kevin

I agree, completely, again. (What's going on here, Kevin?) Part of my point earlier that got lost in my sarcasm (and I suspect the implied point of Greg's post I quoted) is that there is something a little lame about your scene/venue/crowd if a song, itself, inspires a jam. The problems we all have with "Jump Jive and Wail" or "Sing, Sing, Sing" are not that they are bad songs, per se, just that we (at least I and many others) am sick of them because they not only got overplayed, but that a damn jam broke out automatically if they ever were played. Everyone's dance gets interrupted, all so a few people can scream "woo" to the same 5 couples in any given scene who break out the same played-out moves each and every time. It's "neat-o keen, Daddy-o" for newbies, and an ego-boost for the participants, but it REALLY gets boring after you have seen those moves every week for the past three months.

I'm obviously not a fan of jams and feel somewhat proud to have played my own small part in all but eliminating them as a point of social etiquette in Austin. (The social taboo against being a show-off). It's really not because I'm bitter about not being able to bust it out in a jam, even though there are some other personal biases at work against them in that they bring the dark side of my competitive personality out. And it's not that they are inherently evil, but they get out of hand.

I also recognize that some people do like jams and I don't mind if they get their way, too. However, if and when jams happen, they should be more spontaneous than pre-programmed or inspired by little more than the song the DJ plays.