SONG OF THE WEEK

Bees’ Knees Dance is pleased to bring you our latest feature: Song of the Week!

Song: Lawd, Lawd

Artist: Cecil Scott And His Bright Boys

Description: “Lawd, Lawd” – vintage slang for “Lord, Lord”.

When I first heard this song DJ’d at Midwest Lindy Fest I had an amazing dance with mypartner. The playfulness made me get a little silly, the scatting made my feet move with all kindsof rhythms and it’s repetitive yet spirited singing of the words “Lawd, Lawd” made me singalong.

According to redhotjazz.com, “The band prospered, playing at the Savoy and Roselandballrooms and touring to St. Louis and elsewhere. They featured showmanship, smoothdanceable tunes and really advanced hot arrangements.”

Check ‘em out!You can find the song on iTunes and listen to the whole song here. You can also find it on the Dickie Wells Chronological Classics 1927-1943 album.

Competition & Show – Dance coaching with world renown Lindy Hop instructor, Caitlin Wellman!

Comp & Show, Mondays @ 7:30 to 9pm, 11 weeks for $110 (alternate location)

Runs January 9th through March 26th

Competition & Show – Dance coaching with world renown Lindy Hop instructor, Caitlin Wellman! Comp & Show is a disciplined coaching opportunity for Advanced Lindy Hoppers who are interested in pursuing dance training at a high level. Caitlin will be lead this dedicated team of performance enthusiasts through more intense training which will then lead to more performances, public gigs and competition opportunities. Please note that this takes place at an alternate location, at near Church & Dundas. Please send an inquiry for more information.

Please contact us for application/audition information.

SONG OF THE WEEK

Bees’ Knees Dance is pleased to bring you our latest feature: Song of the Week!

SONG: ‘Taint What You Do

ARTIST: Jimmy Lunceford

DESCRIPTION: This is one of the most popular songs to use for the Shim Sham, and Jimmy Lunceford’s original version is the best. Other songs that can be used are Stompin’ At The Savoy and Tuxedo Junction, but this is really the favourite for Lindy Hoppers all over the world.

The song is used in this video of the Frankie95 global Shim Sham in 2009. Unfortunately, Toronto got shafted and they only used a split second of our footage, but you can still see just how important this song is to dancers all over the world.

Bees’ Knees Dance is pleased to bring you our latest feature: Song of the Week!

SONG OF THE WEEK:

SONG: On The Sunny Side of the Street

ARTIST: In this version, Ella Fitzgerald with Count Basie

DESCRIPTION: There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of fantastic versions of this song. The version I’d like to call to your attention this week is a more contemporary recording. Ella teamed up with Count Basie to make a really excellent album that includes some great practice tunes at slower tempos, really nice for new dancers.

In 2002, Steven Mitchell was using this Ella & Basie album for a lot of his classes in the Herrang Dance Camp. After the camp, many of the Russian dancers tried all that year to get their hands on the album but without success. The next summer, Steven was kind enough to give them his copy of the CD.

Bees’ Knees Dance is pleased to bring you our latest feature: Song of the Week!

SONG OF THE WEEK

SONG: Dinah

ARTIST: Louis Armstrong

DESCRIPTION: To follow up from last week’s post featuring Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong is Mandi’s other favourite. Though most versions of Dinah are a bit on the speedy side, Louis performed tons of other terrific music that’s perfect for Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz. There’s just something about this particular tune that captures the feeling of the swing era so beautifully that it deserves special mention.

Louis Armstrong was ahead of his time when he started to both sing and play his trumpet in a way that really did swing and hang back unlike anything else at the time. Here’s a clip from 1933.

Bees’ Knees Dance is pleased to bring you our latest feature: Song of the Week!

SONG: Twenty Four Robbers

ARTIST: Fats Waller

DESCRIPTION: Fats Waller is one of Mandi’s favourite musicians, for Lindy Hop and particularly for Solo Vintage Jazz. His playful piano style inspires fun footwork and accented rhythms.

Twenty Four Robbers was made famous in the Swing community with Skye Humphries and Frida Segerdahl’s performance at the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown in 2007.

It was likely that performance that inspired swing musician, Gordon Webster, to include it on his latest Cds!

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