Lainey Silver 1.10.16

SWING ERA HISTORY: MUSIC AND DANCE

LECTURE

You Should Be Dancing…! Studios

Ragtime (1895-1918 peak popularity) Fully composed, syncopated “ragged” rhythm

Scott Joplin

Stride piano (early 1920s) Improvisational, played at all tempos

James P. Johnson Willie “The Lion” Smith Fats Waller

Cakewalk Minstrel Shows

Texas Tommy

RAGTIME AND PRE-CHARLESTON ERA

Jazz Born in New Orleans

Buddy Bolden Jelly Roll Morton Kid Ory Fletcher Henderson

The Charleston Song by James P. Johnson Written for the dance

Black Bottom

EARLY JAZZ AND THE CHARLESTON

“Shorty George” Snowden After Seben

(1929) The Breakaway Shorty George

with Pauline Morse

Leroy “Stretch” Jones

Twistmouth George

FIRST GENERATION DANCERS

Madeline and Freddie Lewis, Big Bea, Leroy “Stretch” Jones, Little Bea, “Shorty George” Snowden

March 12, 1926 –1958 Opening night admission: $0.75 (Worth $10 today)

Lenox Ave between 140 th and 141st St Integrated“Home of Happy Feet”

SAVOY BALLROOM

Rhythm section – piano, bass, drums and guitar

Emotional focus - trumpets, trombones, woodwinds, and vocals

Kansas City Style and Harlem Influence

Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, Jimmy Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Roy Elderidge, Coleman Hawkins

EMERGENCE OF SWING – 1930S

Freddie Green, Jo Jones, Walter Page, Count Basie.

Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers

Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Al Minns, Leon James, Ann Johnson, Sandra Gibson, George Grenidge, Dorothy Johnson, Mildred Pollard, Billy Ricker, WillaMae Ricker, Russell Will iams

GOLDEN AGE OF LINDY HOP

1935-1984 at Madison Square GardenPreliminaries at various ballroomsRumba, Conga, Lindy Hop, Fox Trot, Polka, Tango,

Waltz“All Around Champion”

awarded

HARVEST MOON BALL

The Big Apple – 1938 Radio City Revels - 1938 1939 World’s Fair Hellzapoppin’ - 1941

Jumpin’ At The Woodside and Hellzapoppin’ Harlem Congaroo Dancers

William Downes (uniform) and Frances “Mickey Jones (maid) Norma Miller and Billy Ricker (chef’s hat) Al Minns (white coat, black pants) and Willa Mae Ricker Ann Johnson (maid) and Frankie Manning (overalls)

Hot Chocolates – aka Cottontail – 1941 Gjon Mili

Life Magazine photography – 1943 Jammin’ The Blues - 1944

Groovie Movie – 1944 Killer Diller – 1948

DANCE CLIPS

The Spirit Moves – 1950 Mura Dehn

Playboy Clip – Al Minns and Leon James – 1959 or 1960

LATE ERA CLIPS

“Well, I do it when the spirit touches me. When the spirit leaves me, I leave."

So, "the spirit moved me" were the words they used all the time. And I understood that the spirit was the

moving essence of jazz.”

WWII

Closure of ballrooms

1948 musician’s union strike

Rise of the crooner, bop, and rock

DECLINE OF BIG BANDS

Frank Sinatra 1947

Swedish dancers The Rhythm Hot Shots Harlem Hot Shots

Al Minns in SwedenFrankie ManningNorma Miller Jean Veloz

Pop culture of the 1990s Swing Kids, Swingers, Gap Khaki’s Swing

Neo-Swing bands

SWING REVIVAL

Revival fadesGroove era

Minnie’s MoochersTrad Jazz era

New Orleans InfluxBig band is backFrankie 95 global Shim Sham Jean Veloz birthday viral video

SWING IN THE MODERN ERA