DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #156: She’ll Keep The Devil Dancing On Your Heart

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Little Kim & the Alley Apple 3 - She'll keep the devil dancing on your heart

Note: This will be the last Song of the Week on this blog. From the following week, DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week will be published on Swing DJ Resources. Learn more about this transition in a separate blog post on Friday (March 1, 2013). An add on Twitter by Little Kim brought my attention to a belgian western swing & hot swing jazz band and their music on Bandcamp. Little Kim & the Alley Apple 3 Little Kim & the Alley Apple 3 play swing music in the broadest sense of the word. They love all kind of old time roots [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #155: Cou Cou

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Erin McKeown Coucou

This is a song that swings but I still wouldn’t call it a typical swing song. However, it works for dancing and it’s a nice one to spice up your DJ sets. Erin McKeown Erin McKeown (*1977) is an American folk/rock performer, writer, and multi-instrumentalist. She began her folk career by performing in local clubs and coffeehouses at night. By day, she attended Brown University to study ethnomusicology, a field that would eventually fuel the diversity and depth of her own music. In 1995, McKeown entered the mid-Atlantic song contest held by the songwriters’ association in Washington, DC, and finished [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #154: You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me

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Humphrey Lyttelton You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me

How many European Jazz artists do you know? I have to say I don’t know that many. That’s why I’m looking all the time for European musicians I’ve never heard about before. One of these musicians I recently discovered is this English man with born into a wealthy family Humphrey “Humph” Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (May 23, 1921 – April 25, 2008) was a English trumpeter, bandleader, composer, record company owner, cartoonist, writer and radio host. He was born in Eton College, where his father was a famous housemaster, and where he was subsequently educated. He formed his first jazz [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #153: Ain’t Misbehavin’

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Albert Nicholas with the Henri Chaix Trio - Ain't Misbehavin'

Ain’t Misbehavin’ was composed by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks with lyrics by Andy Razaf in 1929. It’s an early swing tune with the 32 bar AABA structure. The song was the opening number of the all-black musical revue “Hot Chocolates” at Connie’s Inn in Harlem. It was such a success that it moved onto Broadway, premiering at the Hudson Theatre on June 20, 1929, and running for 219 performances. Ain’t Misbehavin’ has become a jazz standard. Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900, New Orleans, Louisiana – Sept. 3, 1973, Basel, Switzerland) was mainly playing clarinet. He studied with [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #152: Streamliner

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Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra Streamliner

This is a song by the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra I regularly spin for Lindy Hop crowds. Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra An excerpt from their website. The last update I found there is from 2006, though. The BILL ELLIOTT SWING ORCHESTRA, fifteen musicians and four singers strong, plays exciting swing music in the styles of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s, with a twist: much of the band’s repertoire has been written in the ’90s and 2000 by leader Bill Elliott, a composer and arranger whose songs have been prominently featured in many feature films and TV shows, including the recent HBO [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #151: Joe Louis Stomp

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Bill Coleman Joe Louis Stomp

Let’s go back to the Swing era! Bill Coleman William Johnson Coleman (Aug. 4, 1904 – Aug. 24, 1981 in Toulouse) was a mellow-toned swing trumpeter with a distinctive sound and a lyrical style who spent most of his career in Europe. Scott Yanow writes in : “It was ironic that he was born near Paris, Kentucky, for he would spend a lot of time in Paris, France, throughout his life.” Bill Coleman started early on to play in different bands and in 1927, he went to New York and worked with Cecil and Lloyd Scott. Two years later, he joined Luis Russell‘s orchestra (1929-1932). In 1933, he [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #150: Romance Without Finance

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A Touch Of Swing Romance Without Finance

Here is the one hundred fiftieth song and I’m happy to feature a tune by one of my favorite Swiss combos! I would have brought them much earlier on the series, but because their album has not been available online until recently, I wanted to wait so that it’s easier for you – the international audience – to get the song (or even better the full album). A Touch Of Swing A Touch Of Swing is nominated for the SWISS JAZZ AWARD 2013! »Vote here for your favorite band A Touch Of Swing is a fine acoustic Jazz quartet. Two [...]

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #149: California Rain

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Madeleine Peyroux California Rain

Winter nights are long, dark, cold and the days often are gray. Although this is not a winter song, its mood suits perfectly to that winter atmosphere. California Rain California rain is fallin’ I can hear the summer callin’ Far away, far away A song that’s fadin’ Put me on a plane tomorrow I’ll try to run from all my sorrow Far away, far away From endless waitin’ It’s so cold here without the sun I’m so sad here far away from everyone What a fool to be ambitious Moving here with all of my wishes Far away, far away [...]

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