Jam Circle

still from the film Swing Kids

Jamming in dance culture is a kind of informal show-off during a social dance party. Dancers clear a circle (jam circle or dance circle) and dancers or dance couples take turns showing their best tricks while the remaining dancers cheer the jammers on. While some jam circles are staged, most form organically and spontaneously when the energy and mood is right. 

The term jam circle originated during the swing era of dancing, probably borrowed or appeared in parallel with the expression "jam session" in music. Scenes with jamming may be seen in movies and musicals, such as Hellzapoppin. 

 

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_circle]

How do they start?  

 

They can start different ways. Sometimes a jam circle will start spontaneously. Two people are dancing, and the dancers around them stop and start clapping to encourage them. This can happen because people are simply wowed by their style and musicality. Sometimes the music is so fast that only one or two couples are feeling up to the challenge, and so the other couples instead choose to encourage them. Other times you just see some of your friends doing some crazy stuff, and you're so overcome by their coolness or hilarity that you choose to cheer them on instead of going off and dancing. Often these will turn into steal wars, where one couple is dancing in a circle of a few friends, and then someone in the circle will steal one of the dancers. 

Other times people hear a song played at just the right time, when the energy screams "jam circle!" and they'll start clapping. More and more people will start clapping, a circle forms, and eventually a couple takes the plunge and jumps in the jam circle. 

Finally, at some places they actually announce jam circles. This is a good way to introduce the concept in a place where jam circles don't often happen, and it especially makes it easier to get less experienced people comfortable with going in the circle. 

So, what do you do in a jam circle?  

 

Well, sometimes jam circles are a bit intimate and a lot like a group of musicians getting together and jamming. It's just about dancing together among friends and improvising to the music. You don't really think about doing anything spectacular, you just play around and enjoy yourself. 

Other times, jam circles can be all about showing off. Swing dancing has from the very beginning been a dance with social and performance aspects, and the jam circle is kind of a way to mix the two by showing off in a social context. Jam circles are a chance to do moves such as aerials which aren't usually safe to do in social dancing. 

So usually the jam circle is when people pull out all the stops, and do those crazy moves they've been practicing with a partner for the last few months. People will do their tricks, drops, aerials, and crazy Charleston steps--basically anything that will get people to cheer, and anything that takes a lot of practicing with a partner to really get down pat. Of course you don't have to go in with a partner--just get in there and dance your butt off. But if you've been working with a partner on some cool stuff, this is your chance to do it. 

It's especially a chance to do moves that require more room, or moves that are too dangerous to do on the social dance floor, like aerials and some drops and tricks. These are the kinds of moves that you should save for jam circles, when people will really appreciate them.

Entering the jam circle

 

It's important to know how to enter and leave the circle. If it's a more intimate circle, all you have to know is to let the person before you dance for a while before you jump in. Watch them carefully to see if they look like they're about to do something cool that you don't want to interrupt. Generally it's best to wait until the end of a phrase, because that gives them a nice musical point--a break or a focal point--to do anything cool they were planning on. If they don't use it, too bad for them, but at least give them the chance! 

Another thing to do is to edge to the inside of the jam circle with your partner, moving to the music or doing a jockey step so that the people dancing can tell that someone is ready to enter. 

If you really want to show off, plan something cool for your entrance. You can go in with partnered jazz steps (like boogie woogie or Shorty George, or something more original or complex), with a move like the toss (a classic aerial for entering a jam circle), a drag, a slide, or anything creative you can think up. The main thing is that you're trying to entertain your friends and show your stuff. You can be stylish or you can draw on your days as the class clown or drama queen; the thing is to get people laughing, cheering, and clapping.

Now that you're in...  

 

Once you're in the jam circle, anything goes. Obviously, don't do anything unsafe that you haven't practiced with that partner. Not only could it be dangerous, but you'll look like an idiot... which is only cool if you do it on purpose. 

If you're going to do an aerial, plan it to go with a focal point in the music, which usually but not always happens at the end of a phrase. At the same time, don't try to overload your time in the jam circle with a bunch of crazy moves. Go in the circle with one, maybe two cool moves in mind, and just think about doing them. Often it's best to have contrasting moves, too, like a cool drop followed by an aerial, or something circular followed by something zippy and linear. If you're going to do aerials, often it's a good idea to choreograph a sequence with a good entrance and exit from the aerial to ensure a smooth transition. 

There's nothing worse than getting in there, and trying to do every cool move or funky styling you've ever learned, and it all turning into a rushed mess. 

One trick for the leaders is to use lots of simple six-count moves interspersed with cool moves. The reason is twofold: first, you'll look cooler doing stuff you know well, and six-counts last less time! Which means that if at the last moment you realize you miscalculated when the focal part in the music was going to come, then you can change the move to an eight count or elongate it even more. So your six-count bring-in-the-girl can change into a Swingout, Lindy Circle or Rhythm Circle. In fact, it's very useful to be able to turn any move into a similar move with a different count. 

Get outta there! 

 

So you've done your one or two cool moves, and since you've been looking around you the whole time, you see that another couple is ready to enter the circle. Just like for the entrances, it's cool to be creative with your exit. You've still got the same ideas I mentioned for the entrances, but what can be fun for the girl and good for comic effect, is for the girl drag the guy off in some creative way. The main thing is creativity. 

Done well enough, the entrance or exit can be the main thing. You can do a cool entrance, get in there and do a few swingouts and stuff, and then the girl decides to drag the guy out! 

Just one last thing for jam circles: CLAP ON TWO! 

 

Swing Victoria / Class Notes by Byron [byron@byroniverse.com]

I liked Byron's notes so much I re-posted them here almost in their entirety. Here's the site they come from: [http://www.swingvictoria.com/showarticle.php?id=45]

Beguine

Fred Astaire & Eleanor Powell

The beguine is a dance and music form, similar to a slow rumba, that was popular in the 1930s, coming from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, where in local Creole Beke or Begue means a White person, and Beguine is the female form. It is a combination of Latin folk dance and French ballroom dance, and is a spirited but slow, close dance with a roll of the hips.

 

After Cole Porter wrote the song "Begin the Beguine", the dance became more widely known beyond the Caribbean. The song was introduced in Porter's Jubilee (1935). Artie Shaw's extended swing orchestral version was a hit in 1938, and after its appearance in the musical Broadway Melody of 1940, it became a big band staple and eventually a pop standard by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

                                               [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguine_(dance)]          

Artie Shaw's version:

Ella's version:

 

This is a Greek song from 1946 called “Mini from Trinidad” [music: Fotis Polymeris, vocals: Danae] – in the caption it says that it is beguine. This is where I saw the term and checked it out. I like this song...

Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM movie musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including "Begin the Beguine".

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Melody_of_1940]

 

The Saddle Shoe

Whether you call them ‘saddle shoes,’ ‘saddle oxfords’ or just plain ‘saddles,’ the saddle shoe, introduced early in the 20th century as an athletic shoe, has enjoyed nearly a century of popularity. Many people associate saddle shoes with the 1950's while in fact the style has been used and reused by footwear designers since their introduction (1906) and have appeared in every shape and color combination imaginable. Saddle shoes are truly the ultimate ALL AMERICAN SHOE. [http://www.muffys.com]

 

The saddle shoe is a low-heeled, oxford, casual shoe characterized by a plain toe and distinctive, saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot. Saddle shoes are typically constructed of leather and are most frequently white with a black saddle, although any color combination is possible. 

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_shoes]

 

Check 'Saddle Shoe Habitat's' photostream on Flickr for more saddle shoe images: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saddleshoehabitat/

Also, this is the prettiest reproduction I found on the internet: http://www.cruisinaust.com.au/girlsshoes/saddle.htm

Fats Waller [1904-1943]

Fats Waller, I suppose, is not a name one immediately associates with big band swing, or lindy hop, and the truth is most of his music is more 20s in rhythm & style. Still, he was a great musician, incredibly funny, definitely one of my favourites (if not actually my favourite), so he gets an entire post, and you, visitor, get a whole bunch of (maybe useless) information about his life, but also two track lists, one for lindy hopping and one for doing the Charleston. Without further ado, "Ladies and Gentlemen Fats Waller, yeaaaaaah" (imagine Kermit saying that – it’s much funnier...btw Fats Waller would have made such a great guest at the Muppet Show...)

Jazz music's first organist and one of the giants of piano jazz Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller was born on May 21, 1904 in Harlem into a musical family. His grandfather was an accomplished violinist and his mother was the church organist. His family had moved to New York City from Virginia in the late 1880s and his father was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. His first exposure of music was in the form of church hymns and organ music, an instrument that he was taught to play by his mother and the church musical director. The latter introduced him to the works of J.S. Bach which he played on and off for the rest of his life. [1]  

Waller took up the piano at age six, playing in a school orchestra led by Edgar Sampson (of Chick Webb fame) [2].

His father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and go into a career in religion but Waller wanted to pursue his passion for music so in 1920, after his mother died, because of the disagreements he had with his father over this issue he moved out of his family's house and in with the family of pianist Russell Brooks where he met James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith two of the giants of the Harlem stride. James P. Johnson took the young Waller under his wing and taught him the stride piano style and advanced his musical education in general. Smith also influenced the young man by introducing him to the works of the impressionistic composers of the 19th century. [1]

At age 14 he won a talent contest playing Carolina Shout by James P. Johnson, a song he had learned by watching a pianola play it. That year he left school and worked at odd jobs for a year. In 1919 he got his first regular job when he was hired by a movie theatre to play organ accompaniment to the silent films they showed [1]

After making his first record at age 18 for Okeh in 1922, "Birmingham Blues"/"'Muscle Shoals Blues,"" he backed various blues singers and worked as house pianist and organist at rent parties and in movie theaters and clubs. He began to attract attention as a composer during the early- and mid-'20s, forming a most fruitful alliance with lyricist Andy Razaf that resulted in three Broadway shows in the late '20s, Keep Shufflin', Load of Coal, and Hot Chocolates. [1]

Waller started making records for Victor in 1926; his most significant early records for that label were a series of brilliant 1929 solo piano sides of his own compositions like "Handful of Keys" and "Smashing Thirds." [2] Waller composed many novelty swing tunes in the 1920s and 1930s and sold them for relatively small sums. When the compositions became hits, other songwriters claimed them as their own. Many standards are alternatively and sometimes controversially attributed to Waller. [3]

The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1960 RCA (UK) album Handful of Keys state that Waller copyrighted over 400 new tunes, many of which co-written with his closest collaborator Andy Razaf. After Waller's death in 1943, Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". [3]

His playing once put him at risk of injury. Waller was kidnapped in Chicago leaving a performance in 1926. Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, owned by gangster Al Capone. Fats was ordered inside the building, and found a party in full swing. Gun to his back, he was pushed towards a piano, and told to play. A terrified Waller realized he was the "surprise guest" at Al Capone's birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters didn't intend to kill him. According to rumor, Waller played for three days. When he left the Hawthorne Inn, he was very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-goers as tips. [3]

In 1931 he toured Paris and upon his return to New York he formed his small combo Fats Waller and His Rhythm with whom he would perform and record until his death. [1] After finally signing an exclusive Victor contract in 1934, he began the long-running, prolific series of records with His Rhythm, which won him great fame and produced several hits, including "Your Feet's Too Big," "The Joint Is Jumpin'" and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." He began to appear in films like Hooray for Love and King of Burlesque in 1935 while continuing regular appearances on radio that dated back to 1923. 

 

He toured Europe in 1938, made organ recordings in London for HMV, and appeared on one of the first television broadcasts. He returned to London the following spring to record his most extensive composition, "London Suite" for piano and percussion, and embark on an extensive continental tour (which, alas, was canceled by fears of impending war with Germany). Well aware of the popularity of big bands in the '30s, Waller tried to form his own, but they were short-lived. [2]

Into the 1940s, Waller's touring schedule of the U.S. escalated, he contributed music to another musical, Early to Bed, the film appearances kept coming (including a memorable stretch of Stormy Weather in 1943 where he led an all-star band that included Benny Carter, Slam Stewart & Zutty Singleton), the recordings continued to flow and he continued to eat and drink in extremely heavy quantities. Years of draining alimony squabbles, plus overindulgence and, no doubt, frustration over not being taken more seriously as an artist, began to wear the pianist down. [2]

 

Finally, after becoming ill during a gig at the Zanzibar Room in Hollywood in December, 1943, Waller boarded the Santa Fe Chief train for the long trip back to New York. He never made it, dying of pneumonia aboard the train during a stop at Union Station in Kansas City [2] [on December 15, 1943 [3]].

Not only was Fats Waller one of the greatest pianists jazz has ever known, he was also one of its most exuberantly funny entertainers -- and as so often happens, one facet tends to obscure the other. His extraordinarily light and flexible touch belied his ample physical girth; he could swing as hard as any pianist alive or dead in his classic James P. Johnson-derived stride manner, with a powerful left hand delivering the octaves and tenths in a tireless, rapid, seamless stream. Waller also pioneered the use of the pipe organ and Hammond organ in jazz -- he called the pipe organ the "God box" -- adapting his irresistible sense of swing to the pedals and a staccato right hand while making imaginative changes of the registration. As a composer and improviser, his melodic invention rarely flagged, and he contributed fistfuls of joyous yet paradoxically winsome songs like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Ain't Misbehavin,'" "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," "Blue Turning Grey Over You" and the extraordinary "Jitterbug Waltz" to the jazz repertoire.

During his lifetime and afterwards, though, Fats Waller was best known to the world for his outsized comic personality and sly vocals, where he would send up trashy tunes that Victor Records made him record with his nifty combo, Fats Waller & His Rhythm. Yet on virtually any of his records, whether the song is an evergreen standard or the most trite bit of doggerel that a Tin Pan Alley hack could serve up, you will hear a winning combination of good knockabout humor, foot-tapping rhythm and fantastic piano playing. Today, almost all of Fats Waller's studio recordings can be found on RCA's on-again-off-again series The Complete Fats Waller.

While every clown longs to play Hamlet as per the cliche -- and Waller did have so-called serious musical pretensions, longing to follow in George Gershwin's footsteps and compose concert music -- it probably was not in the cards anyway due to the racial barriers of the first half of the 20th century. Besides, given the fact that Waller influenced a long line of pianists of and after his time, including Count Basie (who studied with Fats), Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck and countless others, his impact has been truly profound. [2]

Sources:

[1] http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=11144

[2] http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fats-waller-p7764 by Richard S. Ginell

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Waller

Tunes for Lindy Hopping:

The Joint Is Jumpin'

Chant of the Groove

Beat It Out

Come and Get It

Lounging At the Waldorf

Abdullah

Fat and Greasy

Hold Tight

All That Meat and No Potatoes

Spreadin' Rhythm Around

You've Been Taking Lessons In Love

Boogie Woogie

Copper Colored Gal

Spring Cleaning                                              

                                      

                                  

Tunes for Charleston:

The Minor Drag

Everybody Loves My Baby

I Got Rhythm

Handful of Keys

T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do

Floatin' Down to Cotton Town

There Goes My Attraction

Fractious Fingering

Big Chief De Sota

Got a Bran' New Suit

Hey! Stop Kissing My Sister

Christopher Columbus

Twelfth Street Rag

The Sheik of Araby

Playlist #2

Jitterbug [1934] – Cab Calloway & his Orchestra

Roll 'Em [1937] – Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

The Dipsy Doodle [1937] – Chick Webb & his Orchestra featuring Ella
Fitzgerald

Christopher Columbus [1937] – Benny Goodman (written by Chu Berry for the
Fletcher Henderson band)

Midnite in a Madhouse [1937] – Chick Webb & his Orchestra

Swingin’ the Blues [1938] – Count Basie & his Orchestra

Traffic Jam [1939] – Artie Shaw & his Orchestra

The Jumpin’ Jive [1939] – Cab Calloway & his Orchestra

Basie Boogie [1941] – Count Basie & his Orchestra

Le Me Off Uptown [1941] – Gene Krupa & his Orchestra with Anita O’Day &
Roy Eldridge

Watch the Birdie [1941] – Anita O’Day & the Gene Krupa Orchestra

Why Don’t You Do Right? [1942] – Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman Orchestra 
Shoo Shoo Baby [1943] – The Andrews Sisters (written by Phil Moore)

Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t My Baby? [1944] - Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five

Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t My Baby? [1944] – Bing Crosby with The Andrew Sisters (composed by Louis Jordan)

Everybody Loves My Baby [1944] – Glenn Miller & his Orchestra (composed by
Spencer Williams in 1924)

Shoo Shoo Baby [1945] – Glenn Miller & his Orchestra with the Crew Chiefs

Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie [1946] – Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five Orchestra (written in 1936 by Kansas Joe McCoy)  

Jitterbug

Jitterbug can be used as a noun to refer to a swing dancer or various types of swing dances, for example, the Lindy Hop, Jive, and East Coast Swing. This has led to confusion within the dance community, because jitterbug can refer to different kinds of swing dances. It can also be used as a verb to mean the act of dancing to swing music.

Various editions of Arthur Murray's "How To Become a Good Dancer" contain the following text: "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type"; "A favorite with young New Yorkers is the Lindy Hop" (1947); "Whether it's called Swing, Lindy or Jitterbug..." (1954); "Formerly called Jitterbug, Lindy Hop and various other names in different parts of the country... Swing is the newer title" (1959).

Early history

The term jitterbug comes from an early 20th-century slang term used to describe alcoholics who suffered from the "jitters" (i.e., delirium tremens). The term became associated with swing dancers who danced without any control or knowledge of the dance. In popular culture, it became generalized to mean swing dancers themselves, or a type of swing dance – for example "they danced the jitterbug", or the act of swing dancing – "People were top-notch jitterbugging, jumping around, cutting loose and going crazy".

Cab Calloway's 1934 recording of "Call of the Jitter Bug" (or "Jitterbug") and the film "Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party" popularized the use of the word "jitterbug" and created a strong association between Calloway and jitterbug. Lyrics to “Call of the Jitter Bug” clearly demonstrate the association between the word jitterbug and the consumption of alcohol:

If you'd like to be a jitter bug,

First thing you must do is get a jug,

Put whiskey, wine and gin within,

And shake it all up and then begin.

Grab a cup and start to toss,

You are drinking jitter sauce!

Don't you worry, you just mug,

And then you'll be a jitter bug!

 

In the 1947 film Hi De Ho, Calloway includes the following lines in his song "Minnie the Moocher": "Woe there ain't no more Smokey Joe/ She's fluffed off his hi-de-ho/ She's a solid jitterbug/ And she starts to cut a rug/ Oh Minnie's a hep cat now."

Regarding the Savoy Ballroom, dance critic John Martin of The New York Times wrote the following:

The white jitterbug is oftener than not uncouth to look at ... but his Negro original is quite another matter. His movements are never so exaggerated that they lack control, and there is an unmistakable dignity about his most violent figures...there is a remarkable amount of improvisation ... mixed in ... with Lindy Hop figures. Of all the ballroom dances these prying eyes have seen, this is unquestionably the finest.

Norma Miller wrote, however, that when "tourists" came to the Savoy, they saw a rehearsed and choreographed dance, which they mistakenly thought was a regular group of dancers simply enjoying social dancing.

Popularity

In 1944, with the United States' continuing involvement in World War II, a 30% federal excise tax was levied against "dancing" night clubs. Although the tax was later reduced to 20%, "No Dancing Allowed" signs went up all over the country. Jazz drummer Max Roach argued that, "This tax is the real story why dancing ... public dancing per se ... were [sic] just out. Club owners, promoters, couldn't afford to pay the city tax, state tax, government tax.

World War II facilitated the spread of jitterbug across the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. British Samoans were doing a "Seabee version" of the jitterbug by January 1944. Across the Atlantic in preparation for D-Day, there were nearly 2 million American troops stationed throughout Britain in May 1944. Ballrooms that had been closed because of lack of business opened their doors. Working class girls who had never danced before made up a large part of the attendees, along with American soldiers and sailors. By November of 1945 after the departure of the American troops following D-Day, English couples were being warned not to continue doing energetic "rude American dancing." Time Magazine reported that American troops stationed in France in 1945 jitterbugged and by 1946, jitterbug had become a craze in England. It was already a competition dance in Australia.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitterbug]

Here’s an excellent article by Bobby White (international swing dance instructor & author) called The Definition of Jitterbug: swungover.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/the-definition-of-jitterbug I suggest you follow his blog. You can learn amazing stuff.

Before you go, check my Cab Calloway's Hepster Dictionary link under "Are you Hep to the Jive?" on the right side of this blog.

Tranky Doo

The Tranky Doo is a Jazz Dance choreography. It was choreographed by Pepsi Bethel and first appeared at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem during the 1940s. 

Frankie Manning remembers: "Using different jazz routines was a way of varying our act a little bit for the patrons who sometimes stayed on from the first to the second show. We had another number called 'Bibeau' (the nickname of the guy who created it for us), and one that I choreographed and named in tribute to the chorus girl who inspired it. I knew Tranky Doo (her nickname) from the Club DeLisa in Chicago, and she could really get down. Oftentimes, in show business, as the chorus girls were exiting the stage, one of the best dancers would be featured at the end of the line doing a couple of special steps before going into the wings. Tranky Doo held that spot. I used her exit steps, fall-off-the-log, shuffle, and bogeys, for the beginning of a moderate-tempo, two-chorus routine, made up of a bunch of other jazz steps that I put in a certain order. We sometimes did the Tranky Doo for an encore.

The Congaroos used to do the Tranky Doo in the corner of the ballroom when we stopped by the Savoy, which was only occasionally at this point. People who watched us picked it up, and it got spread around that way. I still teach the Tranky Doo, using 'Tuxedo Junction' for music, although I've lengthened the choreography. The Rhythm Hot Shots, a Swedish jazz dance company, do it faster and have added some steps, which is fine with me. I don't mind if people change my choreography, as long as they stay in the same groove. In my opinion, that's what's kept the Lindy hop going all these years" (F. Manning & C.R. Millman, Frankie Manning - Ambassador of Lindy Hop, 209).

At that time, it was danced to "Tuxedo Junction," however many modern day performances of the dance use other swing jazz songs. It is most common these days to perform the dance with the song "Dipsy Doodle" by Chick Webb & his Orchestra featuring Ella Fitzgerald because the dance appears in the Spirit Moves documentary film with a playback of the song. However the film originally had no sound, and the song "Dipsy Doodle" was artificially superimposed on that section of the film.

It was common to Lindy Hoppers, like the Shim Sham.  

On YouTube I also found the Tranky Doo performed with Slim Gaillard's and Slam Stewart's "Jump Session", which goes very well with the choreography.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranky_Doo] 

 



The Spirit Moves: A History of Black Social Dance on Film, 1900-1986 is a documentary film by Mura Dehn chronicling the evolution of African social dance throughout most of the 20th century.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_Moves] 

Musicians

This is a list of swing musicians I found on wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music]. No idea if it’s comprehensive, but it looks pretty good to me.

Duke Ellington & Orchestra

Band Leaders: Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa, Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Glenn Miller, Erskine Hawkins, The Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Gray, Fletcher Henderson, Tiny Hull, Earl Hines, Gloria Parker, Harry James, Louis Jordan, Hal Kemp, Kay Kyser, Buddy Rich, Fred Rich, Jack Teagarden, Les Brown, Charlie Barnet, Art Tatum

Clarinet:
Benny Goodman
Artie Shaw
Peanuts Hucko

Saxophone:
Coleman Hawkins
Lester Young
Ben Webster

Saxophone:
Charlie Parker
Johnny Hodges
Glen Gray



Saxophone:
Jimmy Dorsey
Charlie Barnet
Sam Butera

Trumpet:
Louis Armstrong
Louis Prima
Roy Eldridge
Hot Lips Page

Trumpet:
Harry Edison

Cootie Williams
Harry James

Trombone:
Glenn Miller
Tommy Dorsey
Jack Teagarden
Fred Rick

Bass:
Slam Stewart
Jimmy Blanton

Bass:
Milt Hinton
Walter Page
John Kirby

     

  

Piano:
Count Basie
Duke Ellington
Earl Hines

Piano:
Fats Waller
Jelly Roll Morton
Art Tatum

Piano:
Teddy Wilson
Nat Jaffe
Jess Stacy

Drums:
Chick Webb
Gene Krupa
Sonny Greer
Buddy Rich

Guitar:
Django Reinhardt
Charlie Christian
Freddie Green
Oscar Aleman

Violin:
Stéphane Grapelli
Eddie South

Violin:
Joe Venuti
Ray Nance
Svend Asmussen

Accordion:
Art Van Damme
John Serry Sr.

Vibraphone: 

Lionel Hampton

Red Norvo

Marimba: Gloria Parker