Welcome to JAZZ INC: Lindy Hop and Swing Dancing in Singapore

Thanks for taking time to swing by!  Here you will find details of CLASSES that I conduct in Singapore and SCHEDULE around the world, Swing Dance EVENTS, as well as regular updates of historical and contemporary bytes surrounding Swing – the music, the dance, and personalities.  Do browse through the different pages/categories, and the archives.  Leave a comment with the posts, and if you have any queries or feedback or requests, drop me a line!

Sinclair

JOIN THE JAZZ INC FACEBOOK GROUP: http://en-gb.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43900997517

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SOCIAL DANCING: SWING BY THE FLYER

Every Monday, we’ll be swinging out at LOVE THE WORLD bar and bistro at the SINGAPORE FLYER (30 Raffles Avenue, Singapore Flyer, #02-05)! Swing by at 8pm (NOTE NEW TIME!) for free taster classes, and social dancing after from 815pm till 1030pm. If you quote “JAZZ INC” at the bar, you get 10% on drinks or happy hour prices till 930pm.  Check out the venue at www.lovetheworldsoulrock.com

Check it out here:

MAP: http://maps.singaporeexpats.com/showmap.php?name=Singapore%20Flyer&x=283746385&y=92152074

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SPECIAL EVENT:

Big thanks to all who made it a fantastic event!  Do check out the pictures at the JAZZ INC Facebook Group!

Marsalis on Jazz

I will be off to judge and teach weekend workshops in Beijing, so I won’t be updating this for a while, so here’s a few vids – the continuation of Marsalis’ talk on jazz music (from an earlier entry…)

In the 1st video, he talks about the rhythm section and how it works, explaining how the swing of the music works…

Here, the band goes into action, before talking about Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong and their contributions to Jazz

Ths same song, played straight Sousa style and Swing style, as a kind of call-and-response.  Really puts things in perspective

Beale Street Blues (from St Louis Blues, 1958)

The movie, St Louis Blues, is a biographical take on the great William Christopher Handy and his music and featuring the talents of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway,  Mahalia Jackson and a very young Billy Preston.

The song featured in this video is “Beale Street Blues”, refering to the main entertainment district for the African American populartion in Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 20th century – a place known for the development of the blues.  The song was popularised on Broadway in the 1919 music revue – Schubert’s Gaieties.  Like many of Handy’s songs, Beale Street Blues is a hybrid of the popular ballad style of the day and the blues style (2nd half of the song). Presenting it here is the First Lady of Swing – Ella Fitzgerald

Girl Power in “A Bundle of Blues” (1931)

A most energetic performance by Florence Hill and Bessie Dudley, seen here dancing – with amazing energy – to Duke Ellington’s orchestra in “A Bundle of Blues” (1931). Check out the split move!! Also the start of this clip was the one used for the re-mix of Single Ladies with Harlem Airshaft.