This weekend I will be flying to Rochester, New York for the very first time to sing with Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders at the Slow Dance Soiree, a swing dance event hosted by Groove Juice Swing that will focus on slow dancing for Lindy Hoppers. I am looking forward to performing again with the Rhythm Serenaders and visiting a new city, but I must admit that I am not sure what to do with these extremely cold temperatures! Wish me luck in staying warm!
I decided to put together a playlist of all the tunes I sang with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra (aka Jonathan Stout and the Lindy Focus All Star Orchestra) that have been published on the Lindy Focus YouTube channel for my personal reference, then decided it might be good to share it with followers of this website. Here they are, videos available (there were many more performed than recorded, but we are grateful that so many were recorded) from each night of Lindy Focus XIII – I’ve made a YouTube playlist or you can watch them individually below:
COUNT BASIE NIGHT, December 27, 2014 (which was really Billie Holiday night for me, since there were no available old testament Basie female vocal charts):
ARTIE SHAW NIGHT, December 28, 2014 (no videos were filmed of my songs from this night)
DUKE ELLINGTON NIGHT, December 29, 2014
BENNY GOODMAN NIGHT, December 30, 2014
NEW YEAR’S EVE, December 31, 2014 (unofficial known as Kitchen Sink night)
It’s not every day that you get to sing with a big band, much less FIVE NIGHTS of big band music! This year I return to Lindy Focus to lend my vocals to the Jonathan Stout Orchestra, which will be featuring the music of a different bandleader each night of the event – Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and New Year’s Eve will feature all the other great tunes in Jonathan’s big band book. The lineup of musicians has been referred to as a “murderer’s row” of jazz/swing musicians and I’m delighted to be among their ranks – to have the opportunity to work with all of them and perform for so many wonderful dancers is such a joy! I’ll also be lending my DJ skills to the late night Balboa room – see you soon!
Singing with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra at Lindy Focus, New Year’s Eve 2013. Photo courtesy of Mike Thibault.
After experiencing one of the best music festival experiences I’ve ever had earlier this year at New Orleans’ French Quarter Festival, I am returning to the cradle of jazz, this time to perform! I’ll be in New Orleans with two of Jonathan Stout’s bands, the Campus Five and the Jonathan Stout Orchestra for the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, October 4 and 5, 2014. On October 4, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight, the Jonathan Stout Orchestra will perform at the Civic Theater, New Orleans’ oldest theater, built in 1906. On October 5, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five will be at NOLA’s famous French Market (at Dutch Alley). On top of these performances, ULHS will feature performances by some of New Orleans’ finest swing and traditional jazz bands and musicians – Ben Polcer’s Swinging Seven, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, Luke Winslow King Quintet, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Palmetto Bug Stompers, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, and the Shotgun Jazz Band. See you in NOLA!
I’ve probably lost my mind, but I am beyond excited about the events coming in August and early September! The first two are for fun and the last four are gigs, which also happen to be fun – I love that singing has afforded me such great travel opportunities this year, performing with several different bands! Here’s where I’ll be, barring forces majeure:
August 8-10, 2014 – competing and social dancing at the Southeast Summer Brawl in Columbia, SC
August 16-17, 2014 – immersing myself in a 1920’s alternate universe and dancing like a mad flapper at the Jazz Age Lawn Party in New York City
August 21-24, 2014 – I’ll be pulling double duty at the International Lindy Hop Championships in Arlington, VA, DJ’ing and singing with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra and Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five!
August 28-29, 2014 – I’ll be joining Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders on vocals at Swing Out New Hampshire!
September 6, 2014 – the Mint Julep Jazz Band returns to the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD, courtesy of the Jam Cellar!
September 12-13, 2014 – I’m back with Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five for the Knoxville Lindy Exchange!
So many exclamation points!!! Six states in six weekends – see you on the road!
On the heels of Lindy Focus, I will be making another appearance with Los Angeles’ own Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five at the Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout in Denver, Colorado, for two nights of performances, February 21 and 22, 2014. I have enjoyed DJ’ing this event in the past and am excited to return as a part of the live music for the weekend. Denver is such a fun place to visit – looking forward to dancing, singing, and dinner and cocktails at Steuben’s. 😀
In light of recent events and a lot of questions from friends and fans, I feel the need to clarify a few things. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Atomic Rhythm All-Stars bandleader, George Knott, terminating my involvement with the band as the vocalist and as the marketing person for the band. My involvement was terminated over a dispute regarding intellectual property rights. As of two weeks ago, I will no longer be performing with the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars and have been removed from all future performance dates.
I’d like to thank those of you who have been supportive of me during this time. It’s tough to pour your heart and soul into a project for three years, use your contacts to obtain gigs for the band, invest time and effort into developing an online presence and fan base, share in the joys and woes of being part of a band, and see something you got into on the ground floor grow and flourish, only to have your efforts and talents be deemed unnecessary.
To borrow from lyrics, the song is ended, but the melody lingers on…after hearing the news, my friends expressed that I should start my own band. I discussed this with my husband, trombone player and arranger Lucian Cobb, who is leaving the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars as well, and we both decided that we love this music too much to stop playing it. As our options for joining other bands as regular members are non-existent in Raleigh/Durham, we will be forming our own group to play 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s jazz, featuring Lucian’s arrangements from Atomic and many more new arrangements. We will also need a band name, equipment, ideas for songs, a book, a website, and gigs, among other things I’m sure we haven’t considered. It’s hard to start all over again, but, hopefully, we will continue our dreams of playing vintage jazz music and share the joy of this music through a different conduit.
We already have a gig on the books for next year and are accepting gigs for dates in March 2012 and beyond. Thank you to everyone who has faith in my abilities as a vocalist, organizer, and business-woman. I look forward to performing for you again!
Laura Windley 