Sweet AND Hot
Yesterday I went to my first Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival. The first of many to come!
Corey was kind enough to lend me his guest pass for the day. And I stayed the entire day, drinking it all in. I wore my cloche hat and mary janes, naturally, with a long black skirt and as close to a '20's blouse as I could muster; I got a lot of compliments on my cloche. I watched Corey play with the High Sierra Jazz Band three times—not only is Corey a fantastic cornet (and clarinet and trombone) player, the entire band was fantastic! Highly talented musicians! All of the musicians I saw were highly talented. I went with Corey to see the Statesmen of Jazz, and then Banu Gibson and New Orleans Hot Jazz. Not only was the music great, but the musicians were funny and had great showmanship, as well. I was blown away!
Later in the day, I had dinner with Corey, his mom, and his cousin—I bought dinner, to show my appreciation for the guest pass. Corey’s mom and cousin were so nice, and so knowledgeable about music. They’re a very musical family, as opposed to mine, which was not. I wonder what it must have been like to grow up knowing music. My grandparents loved to dance, but that was about the extent of what they were able to pass down. Although it skipped a generation, because my mom wasn’t actively a dancer like my grandmother was. I also couldn’t help thinking about my grandma (who passed away 8 years ago), and how she would have loved to come to the festival, and it would have been something wonderful that we could have shared together.
After dinner, we three ladies hit the Cabaret to see Mike Henebry’s Crazy Rhythm Hot Society Orchestra, which played songs from the '20's and '30's—it was swingin’, man! Just being there made me absolutely giddy. Couples were dancing in period style—they were so great! And so in synch. How did they know which moves to do? I wanted to be able to dance like that so much! Can’t I just learn by osmosis? Please? When the band took a break, they gave a Charleston dance lesson, which we took. Then they showed us the easy way to swing dance (right, left, rock step), which Corey then tried to teach me. He really tried. You’d think that having just taken my jazz dance class I wouldn’t have had a problem learning the easy way, but I did. The old brain versus body thing—instead of feeling it, I thought it. Towards the end of the song, I was sort of getting it, but then the song ended. I had a hard time letting him lead—I had the same problem in tai chi class, with the letting-go-of-control exercise, and letting the other person lead my movements. So it underlined something about myself that I would like to work on—not a bad thing at all.
After that, the jam session in the lobby, which Corey was in on, playing all three of his horns, in rotation. It was amazing, because also at the jam session were a bevy of people I have been meeting in the last month, either at Janet Klein’s shows or at Unurban Café: Brad, Tom, Suzy, and others. The musicians…what can I say? Unbelievable! There were seasoned pros and kids (who were awesome, but still learning, from watching their mentors play), all playing together. There was piano, sax, trombone, cornet, clarinet, fiddle, mandolin, mandola (a guitar that sounds like a mandolin), tuba, and even washboard and slide whistle. Various singers drifted in and out, too. So much friggin’ talent in one room! There were people dancing, as well: couples doing swing and solo jazz and Charleston-style dancing, too. I thought, I have to learn to dance like that! It looks so damn fun! I also realized that my education of jazz and the Jazz Age is in its infancy. I knew barely any of the songs they played—there are so many! I’ve got a long, long way to go. But I know that THIS is where I want to be. I was having so much fun learning while listening to the music that I stayed till the bitter end. Till 3:30 in the morning. It was a beautiful thing.
It was a lovely, lovely day for a fledgling jazz baby, such as I am! Next year, baby! I plan on knowing how to Charleston and swing dance for real by then, by god.
Corey was kind enough to lend me his guest pass for the day. And I stayed the entire day, drinking it all in. I wore my cloche hat and mary janes, naturally, with a long black skirt and as close to a '20's blouse as I could muster; I got a lot of compliments on my cloche. I watched Corey play with the High Sierra Jazz Band three times—not only is Corey a fantastic cornet (and clarinet and trombone) player, the entire band was fantastic! Highly talented musicians! All of the musicians I saw were highly talented. I went with Corey to see the Statesmen of Jazz, and then Banu Gibson and New Orleans Hot Jazz. Not only was the music great, but the musicians were funny and had great showmanship, as well. I was blown away!
Later in the day, I had dinner with Corey, his mom, and his cousin—I bought dinner, to show my appreciation for the guest pass. Corey’s mom and cousin were so nice, and so knowledgeable about music. They’re a very musical family, as opposed to mine, which was not. I wonder what it must have been like to grow up knowing music. My grandparents loved to dance, but that was about the extent of what they were able to pass down. Although it skipped a generation, because my mom wasn’t actively a dancer like my grandmother was. I also couldn’t help thinking about my grandma (who passed away 8 years ago), and how she would have loved to come to the festival, and it would have been something wonderful that we could have shared together.
After dinner, we three ladies hit the Cabaret to see Mike Henebry’s Crazy Rhythm Hot Society Orchestra, which played songs from the '20's and '30's—it was swingin’, man! Just being there made me absolutely giddy. Couples were dancing in period style—they were so great! And so in synch. How did they know which moves to do? I wanted to be able to dance like that so much! Can’t I just learn by osmosis? Please? When the band took a break, they gave a Charleston dance lesson, which we took. Then they showed us the easy way to swing dance (right, left, rock step), which Corey then tried to teach me. He really tried. You’d think that having just taken my jazz dance class I wouldn’t have had a problem learning the easy way, but I did. The old brain versus body thing—instead of feeling it, I thought it. Towards the end of the song, I was sort of getting it, but then the song ended. I had a hard time letting him lead—I had the same problem in tai chi class, with the letting-go-of-control exercise, and letting the other person lead my movements. So it underlined something about myself that I would like to work on—not a bad thing at all.
After that, the jam session in the lobby, which Corey was in on, playing all three of his horns, in rotation. It was amazing, because also at the jam session were a bevy of people I have been meeting in the last month, either at Janet Klein’s shows or at Unurban Café: Brad, Tom, Suzy, and others. The musicians…what can I say? Unbelievable! There were seasoned pros and kids (who were awesome, but still learning, from watching their mentors play), all playing together. There was piano, sax, trombone, cornet, clarinet, fiddle, mandolin, mandola (a guitar that sounds like a mandolin), tuba, and even washboard and slide whistle. Various singers drifted in and out, too. So much friggin’ talent in one room! There were people dancing, as well: couples doing swing and solo jazz and Charleston-style dancing, too. I thought, I have to learn to dance like that! It looks so damn fun! I also realized that my education of jazz and the Jazz Age is in its infancy. I knew barely any of the songs they played—there are so many! I’ve got a long, long way to go. But I know that THIS is where I want to be. I was having so much fun learning while listening to the music that I stayed till the bitter end. Till 3:30 in the morning. It was a beautiful thing.
It was a lovely, lovely day for a fledgling jazz baby, such as I am! Next year, baby! I plan on knowing how to Charleston and swing dance for real by then, by god.
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