Randy Stein

Written by Django in 1951 and usually played a soft bossa or ballad. I had a lot of fun working on the chords for the EC in this tune.

Traditional dance music isn't my primary genre but I have really enjoyed the times I played for a contra or ceilidh dance. Mosty my hot club jazz swing group is hired to perform for swing dances. Like the more traditional dances, we have a vast selection of music from which to choose from within our genre. I also have arranged a couple of traditional pieces to swing and improvise. Recently I got into a great discussion about dance tempos vs performance tempos. When playing for a swing dance, you have to really be careful not to play too fast or frenetic for dancers whose dance chops may not be up to speed. It is up to the rhythm player(s) to maintain the proper tempo and make a needed adjustment. At any point the lead of a tune may turn to the rhythm and give a nod to slow or speed the tempo. Good communication is key for sure. And when the rhythm guitars aren't together it is a real mess. I guess it is pretty much the same in a contra and ceilidh. When performing or playing in a session, tempos tend to be more uptempo. Usually at a speed that really isn't made for dance...or so I thought. At a recent acoustic trad session, we played a tune at "dance speed" and I was amazed at how fast we played it. It was challenging fun for me. Just saying...

Till There Was You from the 1957 musical "The Music Man" written by Meredith Wilson. This musical was my second professional performance at the McKinley Playhouse in Columbus, Ohio when I was 11 years old. My jazz manouche group performs this tune as bossa. Arranged and performed on a 1937 56 button treble Wheatstone Aeola.

Set your calendars: Sunday, June 2nd 6:00-8:00 PM DC Ambiance will swing into action for an evening of CIDER & SWING at Lost Boy Cider Taproom. This is free to the public and is not workshop or class. It is always a swell time! https://randysteinec.com/event/5543245/677676099/cider-swing

They sent me this

I spent two months of daily lessons with Jonathan. He already could play but needed some guidance to the music.

Brilliant

Photo of my jazz manouche group, DC Ambiance, with actress/dancer and Mistress of Ceremony , Lucila Tolis, from the show Nita & Zita.

https://www.lostboycider.com/event/acoustic-jam-session/

One of the things taught to me by every mentor I've been fortunate to have is to make sure to give proper recognition to the composer, arranger, or influence or all of the above. Recently I performed my arrangement of Mill Lane by Ron Harbron. When introducing the tune I attributed Ron with the tune and how I came about arranging and playing it. Another example is my version of Scott Joplin's The Entertainer. My arrangement is based on two other arrangements: one by Boris Matueswitch and the other by Itzhak Perlman. Both received attribution in an online concert I did a few years ago. I think it's important to mention the person(s) who influenced the music you're playing especially if you're borrowing their ideas and music. Just saying...

My jazz manouche group, DC Ambiance, is performing live for the show THE WORLD OF NOTA & ZITA This is the story of two immigrant sisters who became an international sensation only to die in obscure poverty. The music is arranged and performed by DC Ambiance. The performance is on Saturday April 13th . Pre Show music starts at 8:00 PM with the performance starting at 8:30. . The performance is free but seating is limited on a first come first serve basis. DC ArtOmatic is a festival free to the public with 800 visual artists and over 200 performers celebrating the Festival's 25th Anniversary. It is truly a swell time!

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