Tin Pan Blues Band – New Album “Hound’s Tooth”

Tin Pan Blues Band, one of my favorite old time jazz bands in NYC, is releasing a new album which claims to showcase their true street jazz self.  Hound’s Tooth.

"Galgo Azul" by Juan Perdiguero

I’ve busked a bit with Tin Pan in Central Park and it was an amazing experience.  When I worked in midtown I would take the bus up the twenty blocks and get off just to catch them for four or five songs during my lunch break.  These guys are exceptional musicians.  Jesse is their lead man on trumpet and vocals, Clifton on guitar, Rob on upright bass, and Stefan on reeds.  They can wail out heart-breaking tunes at a crawl or make it so hot and fast that you can’t help but dance.

I’ve got two of Tin Pan’s now old albums Alice McNulty and Early Jazz and Americana.  Of the two Early Jazz and Americana is my favorite but neither sounds like their street performances and that’s what Hound’s Tooth is promising.  I can’t wait to get my hands on it and I’ll shout out a review once I do.

In the meantime you can appease your ears over in the listening section.

Blues Video Round-Up

There is always controversy over the notion “blues” in the dance scene; whether it pertains to the music itself, to a type of dance and what constitutes either controversy is sure to follow.

On forums discussions over what is blues surge back to the front at least once a year if not more often. So here are some videos rounded up from YouTube to demonstrate my thoughts on the matter.  Unfortunately embedding is disabled on the first two clips so you’ll have to click through until I figure out a workaround.

Grit Grinder Girlies – This clip is from ALHC 1999 and is one of the best early examples (since the revival) of solo blues dance that I could find.  Unfortunately I do not know who any of these dancers are.  The movement of the dancers captures the audience with its dynamic, musicality and simplicity.

Shaheed and Brenda – A spectacularly choreographed and executed piece to Wynton Marsalis’ “New Orleans Bump” at bluesSHOUT 2007.  Their movement is honest and their connection to the music, each other and the audience comes through even in the video; not to mention the wonderful musicality and partnering.

Blues @ RAF 2006/2007 -  This is a great clip for the variety in the interpretation of the music from the many dancers.  Some of the dancers maintain a slow drag style for the majority of their spotlights while others break away or incorporate more open position material.

If you enjoyed this video round up, check out the others: Raw Video Round-Up, Solo Jazz Video Round-Up.

What did you think about the videos?  Have other videos you want to share?  Comment.

Fats Waller – Be Kind

The movie Be Kind, Rewind got me thinking about Fats Waller and the importance he played in jazz piano in such a short yet productive life.  He was a vastly productive composer, including lesser known tunes like Minor Drag, Fractious Fingering, and Yacht Club Swing, alongside more popular tunes like Honeysuckle Rose and Ain’t Misbehavin’ which have been performed by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, and many more.

Classically trained and rent party experienced, his music is often characterized by its playful manner and lyrics.  A prime example of the stride tradition, Fats studied with James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith; his songs reflect the brightness of strides’ ragtime roots with the complexity of jazz improvisation and swing rhythms.  He influenced a great number of jazz pianists, including Count Basie and Errol Gardner, and still influences pianists like Gordon Webster who regularly plays for dancers.

Most recently in the lindy hop community one of Fats Waller’s lesser known songs, Twenty-Four Robbers, was used for a choreography by Skye Humphries and Frida Segerdahl.  It was performed at ULHS (article here) and at ALHC.  The routine emphasizes the clarity of Fats’ piano, and an ease and happiness that is just as characteristic of their personalities as it is of Fats’.  They evoke the spirit of the song, dancing within the space created by Fats Waller’s piano and voice.

All too often as dancers we can forget the joy of dancing or as musicians that joy of playing, we get caught up in a technical perfectionism and bind ourselves with arbitrary rules which supposedly define our arts.  Fats Waller as an icon of playfulness and joy should not be forgotten and we should embrace that when we are on the floor or the bandstand.

Baby Soda Jazz Band Video

To follow-up from the Street Jazz article, here is a video taken by Dianne Eramo of the Baby Soda / Tin Pan combination from February 27th, 2008 in Union Square Subway.

The band assembled: Patrick Harrison – Accordion, Jared Engle – Banjo, Debbie Kennedy – Bass, Luke Winslow King – Resonator, David Langlois – Dishes, Jesse Selengut – Trumpet.

Dancers on periphery: Eve Polich, Joy Arico and Me.

Linked-In (March 3rd)

Here’s a trio of links for March 3rd.

• Peter Strom’s Music Blog – While not specifically jazz music oriented Peter has recently relaunched his music blog.  Peter is a prominent member of the lindy hop community and is widely respected for his dancing and musical taste.  He is one of the administrators for the Lindy Hoppers Fund, an organizer for Swing and Soul, and a world-class instructor.

• Alain Bikes for Microcredit – Alain Wong, lindy hop blogger and instructor out of Montreal, will be biking to raise money for microcredit and to empower women.  He has already raised 750$ and a good portion of donations (up to 1000$) will be matched by StandoutJobs, a recent Montreal startup co-founded by Cat’s Corner‘s Fred Ngo.

• Northeast Girl Jam – Northeast Girl Jam continues the trend of many outstanding Girl Jams but this time on the east coast.  The first girl jam was organized by Giselle Anguizola in 2005 and they have since sprung up all over the west coast and even Australia.  If you didn’t catch the video round-up, Jojo (the organizer of NE Girl Jam) and Giselle (teaching at NE Girl Jam) are featured in the Hot Pockets routine.  I’m excited to attend (as a lead) and am even featured as a guest instructor.

Enjoyed the links or would like to submit an article of interest, let me know.