Bands
The JW Swing Orchestra
Just when we thought the JW Swing Orchestra couldn’t get any better they add more of the best swingin’ tunes to their repertoire. They'll be be playing the lindy hoppers' favourites rarely heard live today such as Jeep Jockey Jump, The Fox, Why Don’t You Do Right and more. We just had to ask them back to kick off the weekend in grand style.
The 19 piece JW Swing Orchestra has been in existence since 1974 under the leadership of clarinetist John Wanner. This is one of Melbourne's swingingest big bands and their sound is firmly rooted in the big bands of the 30s and 40s.
JW has played many Lindy Hop events including the World Hellzapoppin' Competition in 2004, the Melbourne Lindy Exchange in 2006, 2005, 2002 and 2001, Melbourne Swing Aid Tsunami fundraiser in 2005, multiple Easter Hops, the 2001 Swing Patrol Christmas Ball and the Big Swing II. And, on top of all that, they also play for the wider community each year in the Summer Music Series in parks. Many dancers have been discovering them at their regular gigs at the Austrian Club in Melbourne, one of the best social nights of the year (outside MLX of course ;) ). This band loves playing to the dancers and gets the energy level pumpin’, and is a fond favourite of many Melbourne dancers.
Website: http://scad.com.au/jwswing
Listen: to the JW Swing Orchestra here.
The JW Swing Orchestra plays from 9:00pm till 12:00 am at Friday Night's Hellzapoppin' Ball at Ormond Hall. Tickets are $35 or free with an MLX8 pass.
Carol Ralph with Bob Sedergreen and Friends
Carol Ralph, one of Australia’s most dynamic and charismatic jazz vocalists, returns to Melbourne after her debut at MLX7. Although the Blues is her great forte, Carol doesn’t restrict herself to this style. She’s an innovative singer and possesses the essential ingredient in all good jazz: ‘the sound of surprise’. Her love of life, people and singing adds to her great stage presence. She has performed throughout the world at jazz festivals and has toured extensively with the The Spirit of New Orleans Jazz Band in the UK, Switzerland, Japan and New Zealand and of course appears regularly at jazz festivals in Australia.
Bob Sedergreen infuses the music with authority of style, creative expression and wit - to hear him is always exciting and satisfying. Bob has been associated with some of the most recognised talents internationally, including Jimmy Witherspoon, Nat Adderley and Dizzy Gillespie and the Australian artists John Sangster, Don Burrows, Brian Brown and Judy Jacques.
Bob's musical abilities find him leading and working with a plethora of diverse ensembles and groups. From the traditional to the most contemporary, He has recorded over twenty albums, three CDs and three cassettes. Bob has toured extensively both here and overseas including Montreal, Malaysia and Europe. He has been involved in the introduction of new talent.
In 1990 Bob won the Inaugural Jazz Award for Australia's Best Keyboardist.
Listen: to Carol here.
Carol Ralph plays with Bob Sedergreen and friends from 8:30pm at the Saturday night Dawn of the Dead at Forever Dance. Tickets are $30 or free with an MLX8 pass.
The Sweet Lowdowns
The Sweet Lowdowns are a swing quartet hailing from Melbourne, Australia, having met in Canberra in the late 20th Century. The band consists of Sandra Talty (vocals, drums), Michael McQuaid (reeds), Liam O'Connell (guitar) and Richard Mander (string bass).
The band's name refers to the Gershwin tune and the Woody Allen film of the same name, "Sweet and Lowdown".
Perhaps imagine Lester Young, and Billie Holiday traveling to Paris and jamming with a stripped down hot club-style rhythm section. Or Mildred Bailey sitting in with Edmond Hall, Charlie Christian on acoustic guitar. This may give an idea of the influences, but the music is truly the result of the harmonious balance of the personalities that comprise it.
The Sweet Lowdowns members have played jazz with a number of prominent Australian jazz musicians, including Len Barnard, Graeme Bell, Bob Barnard, Geoff Power, Graeme Coyle, John Morrison, Steve Grant and the late Tom Baker, to name just a few - and are now honoured to regularly join such great performers on festival bills around the nation.
Website: www.sweetlowdowns.com.au
Listen: to the Sweet Lowdowns here
The Sweet Lowdowns play from 9:15pm at the Saturday night Dawn of the Dead at Forever Dance. Tickets are $30 or free with an MLX8 pass.
Chris Tanner's Virus
Chris Tanner's Virus have played a Saturday afternoon gig at the Laundry for years, where the band plays solid jazz to a mixed crowd of jazzniks and locals.
Virus favour early swing and New Orleans styles. They specialise in scorchingly fast music which will please fans of 20s style charleston and breakaway, but their sets also feature the grittiest slow drags ever to tempt a dancer's fancy.
Virus are amenable to requests, so dancers should look up their old skool favourites before the gig.
Virus play at Saturday's Something Wicked This Way Comes at the Laundry (50 Johnston St Fitzroy). Doors are open all afternoon, though the band goes on at 4pm. Entry is free, as it is every Saturday afternoon.
This event showcases a regular local gig, and is not run by the MLX8 team.
DJs
Noni Clarke
Melbourne
Sam Carroll
Sydney
Sam is a big old music nerd. She loves swinging jazz from the 30s and 40s, but won't sneer at a little new testament action from the 50s or the twenty first century. And she keeps a special place in her heart for Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. She'll definitely scratch your itch, but she also has a secret passion for supergroove - but don't tell anyone.
Sam started DJing in 2006 and has DJed a few fully sick Australian exchanges: Hullabaloo '07, Devil City Swing '08 and '07, Canberrang '08, Blues Before Sunrise '08, MSF '07 and '08, MLX6 and MLX7 and SLX '06. She used to live in Melbourne and now she doesn't.
Sarah Farrelly
Melbourne
Sarah Farrelly is one of Melbourne’s favourite dancers and DJs. Doing her bit to get women known for not only their swivels, she's been a regular behind the desk at local events for years. Sarah is one of the House DJs at her venue Madame Dynamite's and has had the pleasure of DJing at various interstate events including Margaret River Summer Camp, Lismore/Camp Oz, Tasmania and Brisbane. Sarah was one of two finalists in the Lismore Dance Camp's Battle of the DJs (2006). Add to this her International DJ experience at Camp Jitterbug (Seattle USA) and Carla Heiney's Swing Central (San Francisco, USA) and you can bet your bottom dollar that swingin' along to Sarah's tunes is something that you don’t want to miss.
She likes to play a real mix when she DJs and is conscious of playing tracks that are going to get every dancer up on the floor and staying there! Her favourite artists to spin are Lucky Millinder, Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, Kid Ory, Sidney Bechet, Jimmy Witherspoon, Count Baise and loves to combine these with some great vocalists such as Ella, Carmen McRae, Ernestine Anderson and Diane Schuur.
She’s a little bit crazy, is Sarah – so at times she’ll push the tempos up! What’s more, you can probably catch her dancing along with y’all from behind the DJ booth!
Scott Fraser
Melbourne
Scott loves all jazz music (hard bop and early Louis Armstrong being his favourites) but when it comes to DJing for swing dancers, it has to be swinging jazz all the way. Kansas City/party-vibe style makes the foundation of his set with transitions into hot jazz, blues and groove.
He started spinning for swing dancers in 2001 as the regular DJ at Sunday Afternoon Swing (SAS) at Hobart’s premier social event.In that time he also co-hosted a weekly swing/jazz/rockabilly radio show on Hobart’s community youth station, Edge Radio. In 2005 he left the state to live overseas where he played at the occasional international gig including The Munich Lindy Exchange 2005 and 2006 and The London Dancers Own NYE Party.
Contrary to popular belief he is not a native Tasmanian but born and bred in Sydney. He now resides in Melbourne where he enjoys drinking, eating and scribbling.
Keith Hsuan
Melbourne
Trevor Hutchison
Perth
Trevor centres his sets around vintage 1930s, 40s and 50s grooves aimed to keep the dance floor active and the party revelling. He's a somewhat obsessive collector and is continuously in search of the next killer-diller. He has a particular passion for the original bands of Harlem and songs featuring dudes yelling about food. In addition to deejaying at many of Australia's biggest swing events, Trevor has featured as a guest DJ on Yehoodi Radio and at the Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden.
Trevor's DJing highlights include:
- Herräng Dance Camp, Sweden
- Yehoodi Radio Guest DJ August 2007
- Hullabaloo 2005 - 2007
- Melbourne Lindy Exchange 2006 - 2007
- The Famous Spiegeltent, Melbourne
- Melbourne Swing Festival 2006 - 2007
- Canberräng 2007
- Perth International Arts Festival
Dan Ng
Melbourne
I just wanna give people the most fun they can possibly have swing dancing! So the music I use must always *give* something that dancers can latch onto- such as a driving bass line, a vocal drippin' with attitude, some killer hand-clappin' or a one-two battle between instruments. As a regular Swing DJ in the Melbourne scene for the last 2 years, and in London for as many years before that I'm always ready to make it PARTY TIME for the dancers!
Tim Oon
Melbourne
Tim has a simple philosophy when DJing: if he wouldn't dance to it, he doesn't play it! His sets are filled with swinging vocals, intricate piano solos and bass lines that just scream swingout. While he favours HiFi swing from the greats such as Basie and Ellington, you'll hear a mix from a wide variety of artists from Lucky Millinder to George Gee, Oscar Peterson to Outkast as well as a strong showing from his favourite vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.
Matt Riddle
Melbourne
Matt has been DJing since 1999, and particularly loves to work the floor with a combination of tunes from swingin’ small bands, riffs straight out of New Orleans and Kansas City, and Savoy big band classics. He has been a DJ at some of the biggest Lindy Hop events around the globe, including Herrang for the last 4 years running, SwingCity 2003 (Harlem) and SwingCity 2004 (Melbourne), Hop in the Spring (Hamburg), Barswingona, The Snowball (Stockholm) and the London Lindy Exchange. He was the first Australian guest DJ on Yehoodi Radio, and has won DJ battles from Paris to Perth.
Bill Borgida, International Lindy Hop instructor and DJ:
“Matt has a really good ear for what gets the dancers going. He is the best DJ I’ve heard from down under! I’d have him DJ any dance, any time!”
Manu Smith, International Lindy Hop instructor and DJ:
“Matt kicked my butt at last year’s Melbourne Lindy Exchange. The only reason I won was because it would look bad if the guy who was running the event, won the DJ battle also. It was a pleasure DJing with him. He and I share a common passion for music that really swings and I must say, he’s an excellent choice…besides myself of course!”
Solomon Douglas, International Lindy Hop instructor and DJ:
“Matt’s DJing reminds me eerily of my own. He plays lots of really great music and no fluff, and it all swings like mad and makes me want to either stay on the dancefloor or jog over to the DJ booth and ask what’s playing!”
Events:
- 2007, December: Invited Swing DJ, The Snowball, Sweden
- 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007: Invited Swing DJ, Herrang Dance Camp, Sweden
- 2007, April: Invited Swing DJ, Barswingona, Barcelona, Spain
- 2006, July: Invited Swing DJ, Dublin, Ireland
- 2006, March: Invited Swing DJ and DJ Battle, Hop in the Spring, Hamburg, Germany
- 2006, March: Invited Swing DJ, London Lindy Exchange, England
- 2004, November: 1st Place, Battle of the DJs, Club Splanky Xmas Bash, Perth Swing Dance Society, Perth
- 2004, April: Guest DJ, Diga Diga Doo, social dance event, Melbourne
- 2004, February: Guest DJ, Yehoodi Radio Show, Internet radio programme, New York City
- 2004, January: 1st Place, Battle of the DJs, Paris Lindy Exchange, France
- 2003, June: 2nd Place, International Battle of the DJs, Melbourne Lindy Exchange
- 2003, June: Invited Swing DJ and competitor in Battle of the DJs at SwingCity, Harlem Jazz Dance Festival, New York City
- 2002, September - May 2004: ‘Ballyhoo’, mid-week social dance event, Resident DJ
- 2002, January: Invited Swing DJ, Lismore Dance Camp 2002
- 2001: Two appearances as Guest Swing DJ on ‘Rock N Roll Heaven’, 96.5 Inner FM radio station
Brenda Starr
Seattle
DJ Brenda Starr is a house DJ at the Century Ballroom in Seattle and spins regularly
around the Pacific NW for both lindy and blues events. She has played at many exchanges including Herrang, SoFlex, Denver, LA and will be traveling down under to spin at MLX 08.
Brenda loves Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Wynton Marsalis and Ernestine Anderson
equally although her swing lover is Jack Teagarden. Seattle is a great place to be a swing dj because of the variety of music the dancers enjoy, and Brenda is looking forward to bringing this variety to Australia with her!
Beck Scouller
Canberra
Bex started DJing in Hobart in 2001 with some fellow dancers, Scottie and Duncan. The trio started SAS - Sunday Afternoon Swing - which is still a regular Tasswing event. The trio even had their very own swing radio show called Well Swung (the boys named the show). They were on the airways for a couple of years before going their separate ways. Bex is now in Canberra where she DJs at dance events and she also has a spot on community radio. Bex’s show Down in the Basement plays lounge, jazz, swing, blues to soul and more. Bex has also DJed at interstate events including CCB, BOTR and and MLX. And as always she is looking forward to another MLX.
Russell Turner
Canberra
Russell has been DJing for the last five years in the Canberra scene. What started as a necessity has developed into a love arising out of his interest in music of all types. Since then he has DJed on a regular basis at Jumptown events and coordinated the DJing at several Canberrang exchanges.
He has DJed at various national events including Melbourne Lindy Exchange, Sydney Lindy Exchange, Devil City Swing, Hullabaloo, Church City Blues, Blues Before Sunrise and Swing Camp Oz. One highlight was taking out the Iron DJ title at the 2005 MLX. Russell has also DJed internationally at the Sea, Sun and Swing Dance Camp in the south of France and at the London Lindy Exchange. Another highlight was being featured as a Guest DJ on the Yehoodi Radio Show.
His goal as a swing DJ is to see people up on the dance floor enjoying themselves. It is also to challenge dancers of all levels and musically take them out of their comfort zone. To this end he believes in variety and DJs across the spectrum from old skool to new skool, from old-time to current, from groove to hot jazz. Russell is also passionate about blues, soul and exploring the best that Australia has to offer.
Anthony Wheaton
Melbourne
Now a grumpy old man of the swing scene, DJ 'Chocko' originally began spinning tracks as an excuse to stand around and drink. That was some eight years and countless beers ago (both domestic and imported). In that time he’s been a regular DJ across all of Melbourne’s social dancing venues whilst also building up extensive experience at both interstate and international events. Nowadays you can catch Anthony once a fortnight at Melbourne’s own Madame Dynamite’s where the Madame always dishes up a satisfying feast of piping hot jazz.
Set in his ways and too old to change, Anthony’s taste for music extends from the early Charleston era, through the big band bash of the 30's and 40's into select items of later years. Favourite artists include Eddie Condon, Fats Waller, Django Reinhardt, Sidney Bechet and Lucky Millinder. As a lover of Charleston and fast dancing, he’s not opposed to throwing the occasional speedy track into his sets. Similarly, he has a great range of cruisy, bluesy numbers to cover off the slower tempos. Put simply, there's something to whet everyone’s jazz appetite when Anthony is on the decks.
Darren Witt
Melbourne
Darren started DJing in 2003, establishing Bridie O'Reilly's as the place to dance on a Monday night in Melbourne. He also played at the other Melbourne venues, such as CBD and Funpit. He took a break from DJing for a couple of years, while looking for something different to bring back the thrill of playing for dancers. After travelling to the U.S. and hearing the music being played in venues in Seattle, and at Sugarfoot Stomp in L.A., he found what he was looking for. Earlier this year, he started back DJing, and is now one of the regular house DJs at Madame Dynamite's.
MLX5, MLX6, MLX7 and MLX8 are all Melbourne Jazz Dance Association projects. The MJDA is a non-profit organisation devoted to the preservation and promotion of vernacular jazz dance and music in Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 2005, the MJDA began with its first event, the fifth annual Melbourne Lindy Exchange - MLX5: the Shoestring Exchange. The MLX5 theme reflected not only the MJDA's budget for the event, but also their commitment to providing affordable, quality social swing dancing events in Melbourne.
In 2006 the MJDA followed the success of the Shoestring Exchange with MLX6: the Fat Lotta Good Exchange, and in 2007 they took the Melbourne Lindy Exchange to a new level with MLX7: the Kick Ass Exchange.
The MJDA was founded by Sam Carroll, Di King, Brian Renehan, Wendy Rehehan and Darren Witt but welcomes new members, encouraging them to make contact for more information.
Sam began swing dancing in Brisbane in 1999, and has travelled all over Australia and overseas trying to get someone to dance with her. She's been pushing lindy on people since 2001, helping to organise events like Melbourne's weekly Ballyhoo, annual Easter Hop and the inaugural Australian Hellzapoppin' Prize. She was in at the start with MLX, volunteering in 2001 and organising in 2002. But in 2005 Brian, Wendy, Di and Darren convinced her that partying all weekend long on the social dance floor would be far more fun than running classes, and they held the first all-social dancing Melbourne Lindy Exchange: MLX5. The same group founded the MJDA to run the whole thing.
A relative newcomer to the swing scene, Keith started dancing in 2004. He quickly got involved, volunteering at SwingCity Melbourne six months after learning his first swingout. Since then, he's volunteered at a variety of swing events, including MLX5 and the inaugural Melbourne Swing Festival. In his other life, Keith has been involved with running many other clubs, organising many successful events along the way.
Dianne has been swing dancing since 2000. She has traveled throughout Australia to dance and has been a big part of MLX from the start. She has been managed registrations for all previous MLX's, in 2005 taking on the role of managing not only registrations but also the workshops for Swing City. She was one of the main organisers for MLX5 and MLX6. She is wondering if she is slightly insane in volunteering again this year, but is surrounded by such a great group of people that she is confident that it will all turn out for the best.
Ever since falling over in his first class, Jaymee has been inventing new ways to stay on his feet whilst dancing the Lindy Hop. From humble beginnings in a famously little town called Lismore back in 2004, he has hopped, skipped and jumped on dance floors all around the globe. An avid social dancer and musician, he thrives on the vibe of a swinging live band and can always be found swingin’ out tune after tune in the centre of the dance floor. Recently settled in Melbourne, Jaymee joins the MLX team contributing his logistical, technical and event management skills from a background of music, dance and amateur theatre productions.
Sal began swing dancing in Melbourne, and has travelled and danced all over Australia (love those Perthies) and Europe (did someone say Herrang?). She is usually found on the dance floor busting out with some wicked solo stuff or harassing people to "swing ooooout like Frankie & Norma". She's been pushing the MLX team with event ideas, themes and been part of the decorating team since 2003. Having worked in major events, from The Australian Open to Cirque du Soleil, she comes to the table with more than enough madness, practical experience and "think big" dreams for the entire committee. Her mantra for MLX8 is that partying all weekend long on the social dance floor is nothing without glamorous outfits, venues and decor that echo the golden era of lindy, and showing off the city of Melbourne. We are proud to have her join the MJDA in a major organisational role in 2008.