Search - George Gee, His Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra :: Swingin' Away

The ultimate big band swing CD to bring in the 21st Century. In the early 1930s, a young teenager from Harlem began hanging around the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem listening to the sounds of Chick Webb and other swing greats. Soon, this young teenager, Frankie Manning, was dancing in the Cats Corner, became one of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, helped create the Lindy Hop and toured the world with bands like the Count Basie Orchestra. Still dancing and teaching 70 years later, Frankie won Tony awards for choreography, has been featured on 20-20, Good Morning American, GQ and People Magazine, and travels the world as the pied piper of the Lindy Hop. In May 1999, Frankie was honored at Roseland Ballroom on his 85th Birthday in an event that brought 1700 dancers and fans of big band music from all over the world. George Gee's band was chosen to lead off this event, and in an instant, the swing era returned, the big band and dancers creating an unforgettable evening that is destined to be one of the legendary evening of swing. Fortunately, the evening was captured on digital tape, and the special essence of a live recording can be experienced over and over with this CD. This was the real thing. This is not concert big band music to be played to an audience sitting on their back sides -- this is big band music played the way it was originally played, to a live dance hall. The CD ranges through the great big band pieces including little recorded gems like "Wednesday Night Hop." All the music makes you want to dance. Featured is tenor and vocalist Lance Byrant who also wrote and sings his own composition "She's Never Satisfied" which is destined to become a new big band vocal standard. And then there is vocalist Carla Cook who is fresh from her new CD on MaxJazz records (backed up on that CD by Regina Carter and Cyrus Chestnut). And, then, there was the band -- blasting out energy and making every dancer want to crowd on the floor while big bands fans sat and watched and grinned as the swing era remade itself for the 21st Century. And, with the CD are extensive liner notes -- a 12 panel poster with notes about the Lindy Hop, and photographs of this special evening, including photos of Frankie flipping a swing dancer over his back -- during his birthday dance with 85 women. This is CD to be treasured and there is nothing like it. The real stuff. Dedicated to Frankie Manning. Excerpt from the liner notes: "Born May 26, 1914, Frankie Manning grew up dancing in Harlem's ballrooms, most notably the Savoy. He invented Lindy Hop's first "air steps"-aerials done in time to music-and became a member of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. He traveled the world, performing with bands like the Count Basie Orchestra, fought in combat in the South Pacific in World War II, and appeared in numerous movies before retiring from dance in the early 1950s to join the post office. After coming out of retirement 30 years later, he won a Tony Award for choreographing Black and Blue in 1989. He continues to travel and teach around the world. At Roseland, he celebrated his 85th Birthday by dancing with 85 ladies to Shiny Stockings played by the Count Basie Orchestra-here he is shown tossing Jenny Thomas over his back in a "Lindy Flip" at 11:34 PM. Roseland Ballroom honored Frankie that night by placing his shoes in its famous lobby display of shoes and photos of famous dancers. In its presentation, Roseland stated that if history could be rewritten, Frankie "would have been on our floor in 1936 dancing to the Count's music."