https://andyreid.net/Music & Dancehttps://andyreid.net/2025/07/27/common-jazz-rhythmic-feels-for-swing-dancers/https://andyreid.net/2025/07/27/common-jazz-rhythmic-feels-for-swing-dancers/Mon, 28 Jul 2025 01:02:57 GMTAndrea Gordon and I have been doing this class recently on the subject of common rhythmic feels that swing dancers encounter and some ideas to respond to them. I thought it’d be useful to try to distill it into a post for reference. This post is intended to familiarize you with some of the common […]https://andyreid.net/2025/01/03/workshop-recap-lindy-focus-2024-w-andrea-gordon/https://andyreid.net/2025/01/03/workshop-recap-lindy-focus-2024-w-andrea-gordon/Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:01:43 GMTHappy to be back at Lindy Focus after all these years. Here’s a quick playlist rundown for two of the heavily music-related classes that Andrea and I taught. Thanks for being there! The Floor Is Not Lava (Texture & Feel) In this class, we focused on the rhythmic and textural feel of the dance and […]https://andyreid.net/2020/10/13/transcription-opening-chorus-of-johnny-hodges-on-the-sunny-side-of-the-street/https://andyreid.net/2020/10/13/transcription-opening-chorus-of-johnny-hodges-on-the-sunny-side-of-the-street/Tue, 13 Oct 2020 14:13:58 GMTHere’s the opening chorus of Johnny Hodges’ soulful and commanding “Sunny Side of the Street” from Duke Ellington’s 1963 The Great Paris Concert record. This song, which often leans toward sweetness and sentimentality, is anything but either of those in this recording. I also love how he really sets up space for the backbeat here […]https://andyreid.net/2020/10/01/transcription-1-chorus-from-arvell-shaws-bass-in-velma-middleton-louis-armstrongs-honeysuckle-rose/https://andyreid.net/2020/10/01/transcription-1-chorus-from-arvell-shaws-bass-in-velma-middleton-louis-armstrongs-honeysuckle-rose/Thu, 01 Oct 2020 22:42:21 GMTHere’s a chorus of Velma Middleton & Louis Armstrong’s Honeysuckle Rose as played by the great Arvell Shaw in 1955. Arvell played with Louis from the late 40’s and through the 50’s – during the iconic All Star Band era, and he is a big part of that band’s powerful, buoyant drive. What a great […]https://andyreid.net/2020/03/23/transcription-singin-the-blues-by-bix-beiderbecke-intro-frankie-ts-1st-chorus/https://andyreid.net/2020/03/23/transcription-singin-the-blues-by-bix-beiderbecke-intro-frankie-ts-1st-chorus/Tue, 24 Mar 2020 04:20:39 GMTWhen the first chorus isn’t even the melody of the tune but could speak for itself, it’s worth digging into. When a chorus stays in your head for years, it’s worth digging into. Here’s part of the intro plus Frankie Trumbauer’s iconic first chorus of “Singin’ The Blues”, recorded in 1927.https://andyreid.net/2020/02/05/transcription-jimmy-blantons-arco-1st-chorus-from-his-1940-recording-of-body-and-soul-with-duke-ellington/https://andyreid.net/2020/02/05/transcription-jimmy-blantons-arco-1st-chorus-from-his-1940-recording-of-body-and-soul-with-duke-ellington/Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:12:50 GMThttps://andyreid.net/2019/10/31/transcription-bunk-johnsons-1st-chorus-solo-from-his-1947-some-of-these-days/https://andyreid.net/2019/10/31/transcription-bunk-johnsons-1st-chorus-solo-from-his-1947-some-of-these-days/Thu, 31 Oct 2019 14:57:05 GMTBunk Johnson’s bounce is so honest and groovy in this solo. I started to really get a sense of it playing along with this solo, especially right in the middle of it. This is from Bunk’s 1946/1947 “Last Testament” recordings.https://andyreid.net/2019/09/19/workshop-recap-capital-city-swingout-2019-w-mia/https://andyreid.net/2019/09/19/workshop-recap-capital-city-swingout-2019-w-mia/Thu, 19 Sep 2019 05:44:14 GMTThis is a first installment of doing a quick recap of tunes used and video clips referenced in a weekend workshop. I’ve been doing it on Facebook for a few years, but I’d rather it be here because Facebook is no good. It’s nice to head back to DC, where I lived for 8 years […]https://andyreid.net/2019/07/25/transcription-buck-claytons-solo-from-charlie-christians-1940-ad-lib-blues/https://andyreid.net/2019/07/25/transcription-buck-claytons-solo-from-charlie-christians-1940-ad-lib-blues/Thu, 25 Jul 2019 05:52:03 GMTI love this song. I’ve used it in my dance classes for years. I has the nicest feel, and of course it would… the rhythm section is Basie’s rhythm section. This solo is a masterful, bluesy lesson. Personnel in this recording: Charlie Christian (guitar) Freddie Green (guitar) Count Basie (piano) Buck Clayton (trumpet) Lester Young […]https://andyreid.net/2019/03/13/transcription-mahogany-hall-stomp-pops-foster-art-hodes-bass/https://andyreid.net/2019/03/13/transcription-mahogany-hall-stomp-pops-foster-art-hodes-bass/Wed, 13 Mar 2019 20:54:48 GMTI came across these gems of recordings of duos between Art Hodes (piano) and the legendary George “Pops” Foster (bass). I wanted to dig into it, so I transcribed Pops’ bass part.https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-intro-outro-from-bobby-hackett-jack-teagardens-muskrat-ramble/https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-intro-outro-from-bobby-hackett-jack-teagardens-muskrat-ramble/Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:18:55 GMTI thought this intro and outro from this song had a great sound to it including a surprise key change at the end.https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-youre-gonna-see-a-lot-of-me-by-billie-holiday-w-teddy-wilson/https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-youre-gonna-see-a-lot-of-me-by-billie-holiday-w-teddy-wilson/Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:01:50 GMTThese recordings featuring Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson’s bands are some of my favorites. This creepy song has a nice Memories of You vibe to it. It’s also exciting for me to hear the legendary Milt Hinton, Al Casey (of Fats Waller’s band) and Cozy Cole in a rhythm section together. I couldn’t find sheet […]https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-its-like-reaching-for-the-moon-by-billie-holiday-teddy-wilson/https://andyreid.net/2019/03/08/transcription-its-like-reaching-for-the-moon-by-billie-holiday-teddy-wilson/Sat, 09 Mar 2019 03:46:30 GMTThe Teddy Wilson recordings featuring Billie Holiday is some of the my favorite music. It’s moody, has the nice Swing era 2 balladic two-feel, and it’s just the real thing. A gorgeous recording. Personnel in the recording: Jonah Jones (trumpet) Johnny Hodges (alto) Harry Carney (clarinet,bari) Teddy Wilson (piano) Lawrence Lucie (guitar) John Kirby (bass) […]https://andyreid.net/2019/01/05/jazz-music-structure-for-swing-dancers/https://andyreid.net/2019/01/05/jazz-music-structure-for-swing-dancers/Sat, 05 Jan 2019 09:26:49 GMTThis post is intended to familiarize you with some of the common structures jazz tunes tend to have. It’s written with the intent that dancers can use them to further connect with the music. Dancers can find many ways to leverage these structures to follow the mood of the song, predict things that will happen […]