Book Description
This intermediate-level book sets off on an exotic tour of folk culture, concentrating on Eastern Europe. Adventurous violinists will travel as far afield as Hungary, Turkey, Russia and Romania, and bring back a cool mixture of musical souvenirs. Includes 7 contrasting pieces with accessible piano accompaniments. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, published by American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) on February 1, 1993. The length of the article is 2728 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The use of video and the Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) has enhanced jazz dance instruction. Videos have enabled students to analyze dance movements and choreographic styles while LMA enables them to articulate and write down their observations and analyses. The study of jazz thus enriches dance students' education by providing them with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the dance form and enabling them to discover the roots of contemporary choreography.

Citation Details
Title: Understanding choreographic style through video as literature. (Pathways to Aesthetic Literacy: Revealing Culture in the Dance Curriculum)
Author: Svea Becker
Publication: JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 1993
Publisher: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
Volume: v64Issue: n2Page: p44(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Australian Studies, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 6618 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The origin of jazz dance in Australia can be traced to the 1957 J.C. Williamson production of 'The Pyjama Game, choreographed by Betty Pounder. Pounder was influenced by the Broadway choreographer of Bob Fosse, although his style was not readily reproducible. Further productions, such as 'West Side Story' in 1960, continued the development of this performance style.

Citation Details
Title: The `Great Articulation of the Inarticulate': Reading the Jazz Body in Australian and American Popular Culture in the 1960s.
Author: Amanda Card
Publication: Journal of Australian Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Page: 18(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Great For Horn Players
I found Russo's book short but sweet. His information is clearlystated - therefore easily understood. As a member of a jazz horn section, it is important to know your role in the overall arrangement. Russo's Chapters on voicing are an exellent tool for today's educated trumpet player.

Composing Jazz
William Russo's work as an educational writer is effective and thorough.His other book "Composing Music: A New Approach" is very accessible for someone with only half a year of introductory college pianolessons or theory course.This book though also accessible is very meaty. I've read through it more than a few times.It has so much information, Idon't think I could learn it all before I die.Its very authoritative.

Wonderful compact summary of jazz chords and appropriate use
This deceptively small book taught me years ago everything I needed to know about the purpose and use of jazz chords and what voicings to use to make them sound effective. It is a wonderful book which deserves to be reread every 5 or 10 years. The theory of chord use is applicable in areas of music outside of jazz including classical music.

Not a bad little book...
I liked this little book. I used it out of necessity when I found myself writing a couple of jazz tunes for an 8 peice band (first time I had to write & orchestrate like that).There are alot of quick and useful theory tips.Russo mostly deals with orchestration & voicing for a group with a sizeable horn section which, by the way, I did not have.I did, however, manage to glean enough information from the text to assemble some great music.The section on upright bass was wonderful.A lot of information for a little money!Abel Zimmerman- Big Swingset Jazz Band ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An economic history the band business of Chicago
The latest volume in the "Music in American Life" series, That Toddlin' Town: Chicago's White Dance Bands and Orchestras, 1900-1950 is an economic history the band business of Chicago prior to World War II. Written by an experienced jazz and dance band researcher, That Toddlin' Town covers big names such as Edgar Benson, Jules Stein and James Petrillo, and more, as well as the endeavors of dance bands, the role of early dance halls, ice rinks, and beer gardens, how dance bands earned popular respect, the impact of the Great Depression, and much more. A thoroughly researched account, featuring an extensive bibliography and index, That Toddlin' Town is a "must-have" for jazz and dance band historians.
... Read more

Book Description
Dancer, award-winning choreographer, show producer, stand-up comedienne, TV/film actress and author, Norma Miller shares her touching historical memoir of Harlem's legendary Savoy Ballroom and the phenomenal music and dance craze that "spread the power of Swing across the world like Wildfire."

It was a time when the music was Swing, and Harlem was king. Renowned as 'the world's most beautiful ballroom" and the largest, most elegant in Harlem, the Savoy was the only ballroom not segregated when it opened in 1926. The Savoy hosted the best bands and attracted the best dancers by offering the challenge of fierce competition. White people traveled uptown to learn exciting new dance styles. A dance contest winner by fourteen, Norma Miller became a member of Herbert White's world-famous Lindy Hoppers and a celebrated Savoy Ballroom Lindy Hop champion.

Swingin' at the Savoy chronicles a significant period in American cultural history and race relations, as it glorifies the popularized home of the Lindy Hop, and the birthplace of such memorable dance fads as the Big Apple, Shag, Truckin', Peckin', Susie Q, Charleston, Peabody, Black Bottom, Cake Walk, Boogie Woogie, Shimmy, and tap dancing.

Miller shares fascinating anecdotes about her youthful encounters with many of the greatest jazz legends in music history including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, and even boxer Joe Louis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fluffy but Fun
In the 1930s and 1940s, Swing jazz captivated America in a way no musical style ever had before. Swing was largely developed in Harlem and its driving beat made dance an inevitable component of this new music. The new dance created was the lindy hop, a non-classic couples dance largely created on the floor of the Savoy Ballroom.

Swinging at the Savoy traces the life of Harlemite Norma Miller, who came of age just at the perfect time to invest her entire future in a faddish dance despite protests from her disapproving mother.

Of course, Norma beat the odds and made a decent living as a performer, but this is not what the book is about. The real draw of this book is the chance to glean musical and dance history straight from the horses mouth. Indeed, Norma discusses the bands, the clientele, the lifestyle, the celebrities she met, and racial issues, but more often than not the bubbly Norma gets caught up in the warmth of her very dear memories.

Swinging at the Savoy follows Norma through innumerable dance
performances, which were far from dull thanks to infectious Norma's joy and enthusiasm for dance. However, I would have preferred that her performances had been given a bit less weight and more had been included a few more anecdotes on Duke Ellington and Chick Webb, more discussion on issues such as the development of the music and dance, and how interracial dancing was possible in the dark ages of the 1930s.

Of course, the book is subtitled The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer and so I cannot really fault the book for putting the events of Norma's life at the center. Furthermore, the book is prefaced with an excellent essay by jazz expert Ernie Smith that provides a solid historical perspective on the music and dance of Swing.

Swinging at the Savoy is a breeze to read and includes a good number of photographs that help bring the book to life. I recommend this book to anyone interested in African-American culture, jazz, dance, or U.S. history.

True Original
Norma Miller, the youngest member of the original swing dance troupe, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, had to do some sneaking around in order to dance at the Savoy Ballroomin Harlem some 60-odd years ago.

If the spunk she has now is any indication of what she was like at 15, though, it's no surprise she helped invent a whole new dance form.

This down-to-earth personal memoir by an effervescent woman whose first and last love is the excitement of swing is an invigorating read for almost anyone.

It might make you want to drop everything and go out and dance . . .or it might just give you a better understanding of the history of Harlem and the extraordinary people who helped keep it on the map all these years with their artistic spirits and rich energy.

For the true lindy hopper... the first book of choice.
Forget those neo-swing books... this is the one to get if you want to know about the tales and stories from the start of it all. Wonderfully told from a first person account...

Very Good Swing Dance Book
Norma Miller is one of the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers who danced at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. It has some nice Pictures and some great information ,although it is about her personal bio at the Savoy and other dance spotsshe was in over the years, it is a little biased about Norma(understandably) and The role that she and the Hoppers played in the Makingof popular Lindy Hop. It could have had more stories about the otherdancers and places. It is however a major recomendation for any SwingDancer/Fan. ... Read more

Book Description
First time in paperback: Interviews with jazz greats by an inimitable British writer and raconteur

Max Jones, known affectionately as "the Boswell of bebop" (Time Out), was famed in England for nearly four decades of insightful, ardent writing on jazz. With this luminous collection of interviews, his work will at last be widely accessible to American readers. Here are the voices of jazz-Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Billie Holiday, and Mary Lou Williams, to name but a few-in conversation with Jones, who could turn a casual chat into an indelible portrait and who gives American readers a view of these musicians they have never had before.

Previously published as Talking Jazz ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nicely illustrated and useful
This book is an introduction to basic patterns and exercises in modern and jazz dance. It serves its purpose well, and the illustrations are effective in conveying to the reader the sequence of steps needed to do the exercises. The photographs also serve to inspire the beginning student of dance into what is possible in this art form. The author also gives the rthythmic timing in all the exercises, making it easier to pick music to accompany. Teachers will find it useful in lesson planning and as a reference. ... Read more

Book Description
The ever popular Henry Mancini theme never sounded more "hip" and has never been easier to play than in this Mike Lewis arrangement for beginning jazz ensembles.All the ranges and rhythms have been carefully consideredto make this chart playable by any ability level ensemble.But you willbe amazed at how good this chart sounds even with reduced technical demands More advanced groups may want to consider this chart for it's quick preparation time. ... Read more