Bands
All-Star Jam
Dan Barrett : Dan Barrett may be a new name to lindy hoppers, but he is well known in the trad jazz music community, touring world-wide and playing trombone for many motion pictures including The Cotton Club and Brighton Beach Memoirs, as well as Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, and Bullets Over Broadway. Born in Pasadena, California, and raised in nearby Costa Mesa, Dan began playing the trombone at the age of eleven, and the cornet shortly thereafter. In 1977, Dan made the first of many trips to Europe, to appear at the Breda International Jazz Festival in Holland. Several passports later, he has become a welcome guest at dozens of jazz festivals abroad, and has formed close friendships with many musicians overseas.
Barrett has recorded under his own name (Blue Swing and Melody In Swing are his latest CDs for Arbors Records), and with many respected jazz artists. A partial list includes Doc Cheatham, Scott Hamilton, Bob Haggart, Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Joe Bushkin, Jay McShann, Buck Clayton and Benny Goodman! Dan is especially proud of his associations with Messrs. Clayton and Goodman, for each of whom he played lead trombone and was a featured soloist. We are honored to have Dan playing all three nights of the Seattle Lindy Exchange! www.blueswing.com
All-Star Jam
Dan Barrett -trombone; Simon Stribling - trpt; Ted Gottsegen - gtr;
Jason Jurzak - bass; Lauri Lyster - drums & cymbals; Ben Polcer - piano
Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators
The Syncopators are a jazz band dedicated to the popular music of the 1920′s, 1930′s and early 1940′s. Founded in 2007 by Glenn Crytzer, the group has become the premiere swing-era band in the US, having won over the hearts and feet of dancers across the nation. Their musical influences include jazz greats such as Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, John Kirby, Jelly Roll Morton, and more. In addition to performing classic songs, the Syncopators, perform new songs composed in the vintage style by bandleader Glenn Crytzer.
The Syncopators are the house band for swing nights at Seattle’s historic Century Ballroom and have been featured at popular dance events including Lindy Focus, the Seattle Lindy Exchange, the Emerald City Blues Festival, Camp Balboa, Savoy Swing Jam, Century Masters of Lindy Hop and Tap, Harlem Nights, Hot Mess, The Washington DC Lindy Exchange, Midwest Lindy Fest, and the Killer Diller Ball. Their debut album – Harlem Mad – consisting of 20 original songs will be released in May 2011.
Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators
Steve Mostovoy - trpt; Craig Flory - reeds; Glenn Crytzer - gtr; Jason Jurzak - bs; Solomon Douglas - p; Mike Daugherty - dr; Meschiya Lake - v; Glenn Cryzter - arr.
Solomon Douglas Swingtet
Solomon Douglas performing live for the former Seattle lindy hop troupe, Jackson Street Lindy Hoppers (Century Ballroom, 2004)
The Solomon Douglas Swingtet is a ten-piece dance band whose repertoire is rooted in that of the Basie band (One O’Clock Jump, Jive at Five, Splanky, Shorty George, Shiny Stockings) and that of the Ellington band (Cottontail, “C” Jam Blues, Mood Indigo, Take The “A” Train), with other big-band standards and classic jazz tunes thrown in as well. The band makes frequent appearances at the Century Ballroom (Seattle, WA) and at the Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom (Washington, DC). The Solomon Douglas Swingtet released their first album, Swingmatism, in November, 2006 and just released their third album, Ain’t No School Like the Old School, this year. Bandleader Solomon Douglas is also a swing dancer and has played at countless dance exchanges, camps and workshops since 2000. His influences as a pianist include Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris, Count Basie, and Thelonious Monk.
Watch Solomon’s piano skills up close in this clip at the Glen Echo Ballroom in Washington, DC:
Solomon Douglas Swingtet
Meschiya Lake & the Lil’ Big Horns
Since first playing Seattle with the Loose Marbles at the 2008 lindy exchange, Ben Polcer, Jason Jurzak, and Meschiya Lake have been making yearly returns. They bring a musical connection from New Orleans to Seattle with a spark of joy and intensity for the music and the dancing.
Ben Polcer : www.sidewalksaints.com; babysoda.org; Ben leads the Orleans Six Jazz Band, playing gigs weekly at all the hot spots on Frenchman Street in New Orleans, and formerly a co-leader of the Loose Marbles Jass Band. A former resident of New York City, Ben and others began a street jazz band, Baby Soda, which has taken off as a great addition to NYC busking, bringing hot jazz to the streets and subways.
Jason Jurzak : Jason Jurzak is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and dedicated member of the rhythm section. As a bassist/sousaphonist in New Orleans he is a regular on the vibrant Frenchman Street music scene and in traditional jazz clubs around the city. As a composer and songwriter, his work has been heard on PBS, NPR, Sirius/XM and numerous radio stations throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Meschiya Lake : www.sidewalksaints.com; After a two year glass-eating and fire-twirling stint in an underground circus, and another two year stint as the front woman for traditional jazz band, The Loose Marbles, Meschiya Lake formed her own band, The Lil’ Big Horns. Since the spring of 2009, this innovative group of musicians has lead the current movement joining vintage jazz dancers and young traditional players. Delighting audiences both intimate and large, in their hometown of New Orleans and far reaching tour destinations, Meschiya Lake and the Lil’ Big Horns bring a refreshing love to their craft with originality and honesty.
Their debut cd was heralded as one of the top four New Orleans releases of 2010 by NPR, and Meschiya Lake was given the “Best Female Performer, 2010” award by the Big Easy Music Awards.
Meschiya Lake & the Lil’ Big Horns
Ben Polcer - trpt/piano, Craig Flory - reeds, Dan Barrett - tbone, Jason Jurzak - bass, Mike Daugherty - drums & cymbals, ? - gtr, Meschiya Lake - vocal melody
the Careless Lovers
The Careless Lovers are an assembly of swing dancer musicians, inspired by the streets and clubs of New Orleans, New York City, and anywhere that hot jazz combos have been laying down swinging rhythms, past and present. The desire of the band is to play a mix of traditional jazz, blues, and swing era tunes and stylings with an attitude that’s acoustic, fresh, and dirty. With an infectiously danceable rhythm, the Careless Lovers are bringing the spirit and joy of jazz culture to the streets of Seattle.
The Careless Lovers are a party-to-go made up of Seattle’s most energetic young musicians, playing brass, reeds, guitar, and upright bass. The Lovers like to sing old-timey melodies and group call and responses that get everyone involved. The band can be found on the streets of Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle, and increasingly in the cozy dance halls, coffee shops, and bars around Seattle.
The Careless Lovers
Freddie Dickinson - trombone/vocals; Kevin Buster - clarinet/sax; Brett Nakashima - bass; Mike Faltesek - guitar/vocals