JuandeSwing (2026)

08/08/2022

Our sunrise tour didn't work out as expected but we had an entire national parc just for us for 3 hours :)

08/05/2021

Happy weekend everyone!

Hope you’re all well since last time we saw each other :D
I’ll be DJing twice through May: tomorrow (9th May) and Sunday 23rd. I figured since we’re allowed out you don’t need me so much to fix your Sunday 😉
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724

May is Frankie’s month and, in the absence of getting all together and having a great ball to celebrate it – hang in… we’ll get there! – I’m planning to play some of Frankie’s favourites tunes and music of the Savoy.
If you’re looking for some ideas to celebrate , check the Frankie Manning Foundation’s page (https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/programsfmf/frankie-month/) or join us for a nice set of swing tunes!

17/04/2021

Gooood morning and happy Saturday everyone!
Hope the sun is shining where you are and you’re making the most of “being allowed to live” :D
I don't know you... but amongst many things I look forward to swinging out like Willa Mae Ricker and Leon James in this pic! We're finally getting there!
Over the last weeks we had awesome guests DJs and I’m super grateful to Debi and Tadas for bringing in their good vibes and TUNES!
I’ll be spinning some tunes as usual tomorrow at 6pm and it will be my last set until 8 May. Hope to see you there for some groovy tunes and a dance or 2 :D
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724

28/03/2021

Thank you everyone who came to today's set!
So nice to see so many of you and so many people dancing!!

See you next week at 6 for more! 😀

27/03/2021

We have a new fresh set of swing tunes tomorrow at 6pm. If you are after a weekend swing fix all you’ve got to do is just click the link! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

For now, it’s time to dig into Johnny Hodges a bit more 😊 This time I wanted to know a bit more about his contribution to Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938 – if you haven’t heard the album… IT’S A MUST! This gig marked a before and after jazz music and Johnny was part of it as he played soprano in “Blue Reverie” and alto in a jam in “Honeysuckle Rose”.
Quite rightly, Goodman described Hodges as "by far the greatest man on alto sax that I ever heard”!

https://youtu.be/yC83Gy-02F8

The group that played the song at Carnegie was formed by a combination of Benny and Duke’s men, including Gene Krupa, Cootie Williams – who in this song somehow makes that trumpet talk! – and Johnny. What fascinates me the most is that before the gig, they only rehearsed the song once… to do a sound check and yet the result is incredible.
Nobody knows exactly how the song made it to the concert, but is now part of one the most well known jazz concerts.

Time to indulge and if you want to check the full story, you can read more about it here: https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/12/31/blue-reverie-1937-38-duke-ellington-and-benny-goodmans-1938-carnegie-hall-concert/

21/03/2021

Hey! After a week’s break – and an awful amount of solo dancing – I’m back at 6pm for a new set of swing tunes!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

If you are feeling like wanting to know a bit more on musicians… well you’re in luck as I’ll be focusing on Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges for the next 4 weeks 😊 I feel a bit embarrassed to not have look into Johnny until now, and intimidated by the task at the same time!

Let’s take it from the top and focus on his early years. Chances are we know Johnny Hodges for playing alto saxophone, however in his early years he used to play drums and piano. Johnny was also quite a skilled soprano sax player, his main inspiration being Sidney Bechet and some sources say he even took classes from him.
Johnny moved from Boston to NY in 1924 and soon joined a band of a guy called Chick Webb, who happened to be his cousin (!!!). At the time, Chick wasn’t keen to be a bandleader but Johnny persuaded him to take the band to the Savoy in 1927. The rest is history! Sadly, there’re no recordings of Johnny and Chick playing together.

Johnny joined the Duke in 1928 and basically stayed with him for nearly all his career, apart from a 1951-1955 stint. Through his career Johnny got different names: “Rabbit”: because of his rabbit-like nibbling on lettuce and tomato sandwiches; from his ability to run really fast; or because of his lack of expression when playing. He was also called “Jeep” after a character in the cartoon Popeye.
And this brings us to the TUNE of the week, a dancers favourite: The Jeep is Jumpin’ !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3hSpzTigWU What a treat to be able to see these guys playing live 😊

Hope you enjoy it and to see you later on at 6 for some tunes!

06/03/2021

If you’re looking for some music, catch me Sunday at 6pm for a new set of swing tunes as we wrap your weekend up - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

In the meantime, time to put our eyes once again in Buck Clayton.
Buck’s draft to the Army meant his days with Basie’s men came to an end. Luckily enough, he got stationed pretty close from New York, meaning he could keep going to town to play with his mates 😊

In one of these sessions in August 1945 he got JC Hear (drums), Johnny Guarnieri (piano), Milton Hinton (bass) and “Flip” Joe Phillips (tenor sax) to record 4 pieces, “Groovin’ with J.C” being one of them and our song of the week. Shout out to Jon Turps for introducing me to this song! If you like groovy tunes, a solid rhythm section and a very catchy riff, this will be up your street. Note: I had to check 10 times that that it was Johnny on piano and not Count Basie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U7NfduCAxM
What happened to Buck after the war? Well… he went to be one of the most famous trumpet players in Jazz history! He never really “crossed the road” to Bebop and for this reason his sound was labelled as “Mainstream”. Along his merits, he joined JATP, composed and arranged for the Duke or Benny, led his own band making several long stints in Europe, made great friends and recordings with Humphrey Littleton and toured Africa and Asia. Almost nothing!

Enjoy this week’s tune and see you tomorrow for more 😊

20/02/2021

Time to continue digging in a bit in Buck Clayton’s career!
After coming back from Shangai, Willie Bryant invited Buck to join his band in New York. On the way to meet him, Buck stopped in Kansas and was invited by Basie to join his band replacing Hot Lips Page.
Time to continue digging in a bit in Buck Clayton’s career!
After coming back from Shangai, Willie Bryant invited Buck to join his band in New York. On the way to meet him, Buck stopped in Kansas and was invited by Basie to join his band replacing Hot Lips Page.
The move ended up being highly prolific to Buck as not only he would enjoy the benefits of playing under Basie’s band but also allowed him to do freelance work. Between 37-43 Buck recorded with Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson and Harry James.
Buck’s engagement with Basie came to an end in November 1943 when he was drafted.
The song of this week is no other than Basie’s flagship tune “One O’clock Jump” (previously known as “Blue Ball” – wonder why they changed its name!?). I chose this particular clip as it briefly features Buck’s solo but also Don Byas on Sax who would then be part of Buck’s own band. Not long after recording this movie Buck went to war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXq7eb_HJ7w
Hope you’re in the mood for a classic!
If you want a bit more of music, I’m back on Sunday at 6pm for a new DJ set of top swing tunes!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I
See you there!

JuandeSwing

08/08/2022

08/05/2021

17/04/2021

28/03/2021

27/03/2021

21/03/2021

06/03/2021

20/02/2021

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