Help Needed!

[turin]

Ive been asked to DJ a kick off dance for a new venue here in Albuquerque. I've got some great stuff, but the problem is that I need good solid high energy mid tempo (120-160bpm) for the crowd which will be mostly comprised of begginers and east coasties. Can anyone give me some suggestions of songs with some good energy like that? The crowd is used to common swing, so if that can help, please use it.

Thank you to anyone and everyone who can help!!!

[zzzzoom]

The crowd is used to common swing, so if that can help, please use it.

What is 'common swing'?

[Toon Town Dave]

Can you provide a little bit more information on the scene; are there other venues and what kind of music do they play, what does the organizer of the new venue expect for music? I honestly have no idea what you might mean by "common swing", perhaps you could provide some examples of what style of music you mean. With a little more background/specifics, I'm sure we can offer plenty of recommendations.

[turin]

Common swing is stuff like "In the Mood", or Indigo swing, or stuff like Rockin' Robin and some 7 minute long version of "Hit the road Jack". So artists like Muggsy Spanier or Sidney Bechet or Chick Webb wouldn't be familiar to them.

The other major contending venue plays primarily rock-a-billy music, and 50's rock and roll. We're trying to move this venue away from the Rock-a-billy version of East coast dancing and music and towards more swing jazz and lindy hop.

I Hope this helps.

[lipi]

Common swing is stuff like "In the Mood", or Indigo swing, or stuff like Rockin' Robin and some 7 minute long version of "Hit the road Jack".

so common swing appears to be mostly jump blues and r&b. :o)

i am not really sure what you are asking for. if you're asking for "good music in the 120-160 range", then you'll find plenty of other threads with suggestions. i guess i'll try to tie in with what you mentioned, and haphazardly guess at what it is you and the dancers around you may like:

in the mood:
you could play teddy wilson's "in the mood" or oscar aleman's and it shouldn't be too big a shock to the crowd.

indigo swing:
you could play other indigo swing stuff, and any other jump blues you like. louis prima, louis jordan, calvin boze's "safronia b", that sort of thing.

rockin' robin, hit the road jack:
there are a bunch of threads of r&b and soul. peter strom posted one his sets on his blog a few months ago -- i don't have the url handy, i'm afraid, but i've heard from my younger and somewhat less inhibited friends that it is linked from his myspace profile.

perhaps this set list i posted a while ago may give you ideas. it has a bunch of jump blues and is full of mid-tempo stuff that's engaging to beginners. or so i think. what do i know.

[Toon Town Dave]

I'd probably be doing a lot of trial and error to see what kinds of tunes the crowd digs. I don't think I'd do a wholesale change but if that's what the venue wants, it's really their call.

Music I'd probably try:

Strange Things Happening Every Day - Chris Barber and His Jazz Band
Minor Swing - Boiler Maker Jazz Band or Johnathan Stout and His Campus 5 (Boilermakers version has a Sing, Sing, Sing sort of intro)
Tune Town Shuffle - Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra
Shorty George - Count Basie
Frim Fram Sauce - Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong
I'm Beginning to See the Light - Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie
Organ Grinder's Swing - Jimmie Lunceford
Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) - Jimmie Lunceford or Bill Elliott
Castle Rock - Johnny Hodges
On Revival Day - Lavern Baker
Blitzkrieg Baby (You Can't Bomb Me) - Lester Young
Flying Home No. 2 - Lionel Hampton
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington
Shout, Sister, Shout - Lucky Millinder
Good Rockin' Tonight - Wynonie Harris
Dipper Mouth Blues - Glenn Miller
Solid As a Rock - Count Basie
You Took Advantage of Me - Chris Barber

Many are at the upper end of the tempo range, most of the slower stuff I have is either a little on the janky side or a wee bit too mellow. As this stuff gets more into the crowd's comfort zone, start branching into more swing era stuff.

[fredo]

...artists like Muggsy Spanier or Sidney Bechet or Chick Webb wouldn't be familiar to them.

I'd at least introduce these artists to them to see how they go over.

[djstarr]

songs I think will work:

Opus One: Anita O'Day w/Gene Krupa - on the "Let me Off Uptown" CD, which has a ton of tracks that would work for this crowd.
Goody Goody: Ella Fitzgerald - on the Decca 75th Birthday Celebration - not sure if it's on other CDs.
Shout Sister Shout - 2nd that from Toon Town Dave
Satch Plays Fats -- all the mid tempo stuff is great - "Crazy 'Bout My Baby", "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling", even Keepin' out of Mischief now if you are going down to 120 bpm.
Anthology of Big Band Swing --- a lot of really good mid-tempo classic swing, it's a good starting point to transfer a jump blues crowd over to more vintage tunes.
My Blue Heaven - Artie Shaw from "The Very Best of Artie Shaw".

[alainw]

You can also try playing stuff like:

Buster Smith - Kansas City Riffs
Buddy Johnson - Shufflin' and Rollin'
Lionel Hampton - Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
Ella Fitzgerald - Sweet Georgia Brown

And other songs that we might consider "overplayed" in the Lindy community, but which your scene might not have been introduced to.

[Cyrano de Maniac]

high-energy mid-tempo? Sounds like Barbara Morrison to me.

Brent

[JesseMiner]

I need good solid high energy mid tempo (120-160bpm) for the crowd which will be mostly comprised of begginers and east coasties. Can anyone give me some suggestions of songs with some good energy like that?

We're trying to move this venue away from the Rock-a-billy version of East coast dancing and music and towards more swing jazz and lindy hop.

My recommendation would be to, at first at least, lean heavily on modern swing recordings with strong and clear rhythm sections and swinging jump blues. This music will appeal to lindy hoppers while not scare off the "begginers and east coasties". Good transitional material to get them ready for some classic Count Basie, Chick Webb and Benny Goodman down the line.

A few suggestions of great albums that are chock full of songs that should meet your criteria, along with selected songs for reference:

"Alright, Okay, You Win" (130 bpm) by Barbara Morrison - Live At The 9:20 Special
"Tune Town Shuffle" (172 bpm) by Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra - Live At The Hollywood Palladium
"Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" (146 bpm) by Buddy Johnson - Walk 'Em: The Decca Sessions
"Everybody Eat's When They Come To My House" (154 bpm) by Cab Calloway - Are You Hep To The Jive?
"Smack Dab In The Middle" (126 bpm) by Count Basie - Count Basie At Newport
"For Dancers Only" (134 bpm) by Duke Ellington - Recollections Of The Big Band Era
"Let The Good Times Roll" (154 bpm) by George Gee's Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra - Swinging Live!
"Regular Joe" (136 bpm) by Indigo Swing - All Aboard
"Cole Slaw" (146 bpm) by Jesse Stone - Original Swingers: Hipsters, Zoots & Wingtips, Vol. 2
"Honey Pie" (157 bpm) by Lavay Smith - Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Miss Thing!
"Mister Five By Five" (124 bpm) by Lily Wilde - Insect Ball
"C-Jam Blues" (138 bpm) by Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra - Live in Swing City: Swingin' With Duke
"Red, Hot and Blue" (124 bpm) Roomful of Blues - Swingin' and Jumpin'
"Oh Babe" (175 bpm) by Wynonie Harris - Bloodshot Eyes
"The Walkin' Blues" (162 bpm) by Fluffy Hunter - Risque Rhythms

Hope that helps get you started!

Jesse

[turin]

I DJed the first dance last night and I got some great feed back!

Thanks a bunch for helping out.

Kevin