October 26, 2008

Bluetopia Tested: Tina Approved

Well, if you can’t brag on your own blog that you and your co-DJ at your own darn venue won the Blues DJ contest, where the heck else can you?

This week-end, Sara and Tom (Chicago blues dancers) brought Don West and Tina Davis in from Texas to come show us how it’s done. They taught all-day workshops on Saturday and Sunday, and we had some mighty fine dancing on Friday and Saturday night including at our very own Bluetopia.

Tina Davis has DJed god knows how many Blues events over the years. It seems that whenever I’ve just had 10 or 15 amazing dances in a row to songs that won’t let me sit down, I look up, and there’s Tina at the decks. She’s a gal who knows her blues and plays a great mix of traditional and sass. The Sapphire Uppity Blues Women song, “Bitch with a Bad Attitude” comes to mind as a recent pick of hers.

I felt pretty good about my set during the competition… Tina made several remarks about some of my songs, but Lydia really kept the floor going and challenged the notion that blues music is all slow-dance. I was pretty sure she’d get first place and she did.

So, between the two of us, Lydia and I are “Tina approved.” Which is a nice thing to hear. I went through a phase where I thought being a Swing DJ was what I wanted to do. Then I ended up DJing late-night blues parties. While I have a pretty good little swing collection, I admit, I don’t feel a driving force to keep collecting swing music. But Blues on the other hand… I got no problem with having a totally overblown blues collection. I’m so excited when I discover a new artist that I hadn’t heard, or a great recording of a favorite song.

Because I’m really in the mood for Nina Simone today, here’s the song I closed my competition set with (plus one more, just for fun):

There is something absolutely emotional and haunting about Nina Simone’s voice. She’s an artist who can bring me to tears on a regular basis. Her version of Summertime (and I have 32 versions!) is one of my favorites. Backed by just a piano and stand-up bass, her vocal interpretation winds around the original melody, subtle, haunting, tentative without wavering, but at the same time, so sure. Nina’s voice and bearing also challenge the traditional feminine roles that jazz vocalists often play. I wonder if Nina Simone loved having her voice as much as we love hearing it. Did she really know and love her gift?

I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface on Nina’s extensive discography. One label that has produced some great tracks for her, (including this one here) is Tomato Records/The Orchard. I’ve been pleased to dig up some other blues and jazz artists with great clear recordings produced by this label. If you’re looking to get started with some Nina, be sure to check out The Tomato Collection.