Sandy Lewis & Martí Gasool - Swing Paradise 2023

Vilnius Swing Dance & Music Festival - Swing Paradise
Organised by What a Jazz dance studio
swingparadise.lt/
Sandy Lewis & Martí Gasool - Mambo Shag performance
Video: Nuno Neves / Within the Groove
Swing Paradise is part of the Swinging Europe Network project which is co-funded by European Union.
#swingparadise #whatajazz #withinthegroove

[@sandyl.2470]

We really stepped out of our wheelhouse with this one, but we had a ball doing it. In my quest for new music, I stumbled across a radio program online and shazammed every song one-by-one. When Mambo Boogie popped up, I immediately sent it to Martí because I knew he'd love it. It sat in our back pockets for over a year before we decided to do anything with it. We hope we did it justice and we hope Johnny Otis would approve. It was our first time performing this choreography in full and we were excited to do it at Swing Paradise because we knew we'd be surrounded by people who know us, although we weren't sure how it would be received. But what a crowd it turned out to be! I don't think we've ever had such a raucous reception, and our hearts grew ten times bigger when we heard the crowd clapping along with the clave beat. Big love to all y'all! 💥💥Knowledge time!💥💥 Johnny Otis was born in California to Greek parents, and is known as the godfather of rhythm and blues, and also sometimes credited as the godfather of rock and roll. He discovered Big Jay McNeely, Etta James, Little Ester, and Big Mama Thornton just to name a few. His big band included Wynonie Harris and Illinois Jacquet. He was a prodigious musician, and in his traveling "review" he insisted that up-and-coming musicians would get the spotlight. He had his own TV show, radio show and even wrote a book showcasing Black voices during the 1965 Watts riots (Listen to the Lambs). He was a man who loved the Black community and did what he could to raise it up at every turn in his life. In 1951 he recorded the first ever track that married Mambo and R&B and aptly named it "Mambo Boogie" with Goucho & his Jungle Drums, and Robert Banks and the Waileros. (This is the only song credit I can find about the tune. If anyone knows better, please write me!) Till next time Love & Shag...and Mambo! -Sandy 💥💥Mambo Time💥💥 Mambo has its origins in the late 30’s in Cuba, but it became widely known during the 50’s, mainly thanks to the Palladium ballroom in NY. From 1947 to 1966 the Palladium was considered “the home of the mambo”, where people went to dance and enjoy the music of the Latin orchestras, such as Pérez Prado, Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez or Machito. The music they were playing was a mix between afrocuban and jazz music, and everybody wanted to listen them and dance to their mambo craze. There were some dancers that danced professionally with the bands and became famous, such as Pedro Aguilar & Millie Donay, Augie & Margo Rodríguez, Aníbal Vázquez, Mike Ramos or Freddie Rios. The Palladium brought people of all nationalities, skin color, and social classes in the same room, where they danced together and were judged based on their dancing ability, rather than the color of their skin. -Marti

[@swingdancingphoenix]

Ooooh, that slide up move by the lead at 00:46! 🔥