[Dixielandjazz] Swing Dancers

[Stephen G Barbone]

> Judi K <heartsjazz at gmail.com> wrote
>
> Don't knock the swing dancers who come to dance.  The old timers who  
> 'know'
> the 'real' swing dancers are gone.  Kudus to those who are trying..  
> and, as
> far as listening... they listen better than most that sit at a table
> chatting and mind drifting... the dancers have to listen.  The  
> dancers have
> to listen in order to coordinate with the music's beat.
>
> Hey, don't discourage it!!

Dear Judi:

I'm with you. With the occasional exception the swing dancers here in  
Philadelphia area are great young people. Among them,  two 30  
somethings got the opportunity to dance with the legendary Frankie  
Manning before he passed.

Most are under 40, but we have one couple where he is 80 and she is  
mid 70s. They are a delight to watch and play for. And the kids pay  
attention to them when they dance.

Most all of them pay attention to our band and our music. The few that  
don't are the exceptions. They are the reason I bought an electronic   
metronome. They bitch about tempo and when one of them asks for 140  
Beats Per Minute, I turn on the metronome. VBG. That stopped their  
tempo complaints cold.

But the vast majority are wonderful kids, who carry our gear for us,  
from drums and double base to amps and sound system. And they ask us  
old folks about what it was like back in the 1940s. And they do indeed  
listen.

They have their own alcohol free venues at local universities, or  
restored dance halls and put on their own events. It is a treat for  
them to dance to live music and get a tune longer than 3 minutes.

We love them and they love us in return.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband