Hot Club Swing

12/16/2022

Hot Club Swing will not be returning. While there are a number of contributing factors that led us to this decision know that we’ve appreciated everyone that’s participated over the years. Whether you’ve swung out, shuffled or step-ball-changed at HCS, thank you for making the community the wonderful place that it is.

05/27/2022

Happy World Lindy Hop Day!
Come join in the celebration this Sunday 11am-2pm at the Community Picnic. Hang out and catch up with new and old friends that share the love of jazz and this wonderful dance! Feel free to bring family or friends as this event is welcome to all. Sunscreen, water, and something to eat if you get peckish are also advised.
If you are planning on bringing food to share please avoid common allergens.
https://www.facebook.com/events/522416486184893

10/26/2021

As the wet weather settles in for the season we know there are many folks (ourselves included) that are looking for local indoor dancing. Unfortunately at this time Hot Club Swing will not be returning quite yet. We will be taking a cautious approach when it comes to returning to opening our dance floors out of respect of both our dance community and wider community as a whole.

It is our current understanding of the provincial health orders regarding indoor organised gatherings that dancing is not permitted at this time.

When we do come back, it will be in full accordance with whatever mandates are in place at that time. We will update this space as we reevaluate the situation.

We miss getting to spend time with the community, listening to and dancing to live, local musicians but know that we’ll meet again (hopefully sooner than later).

06/05/2020

It's the first Friday on the month, once again Bandcamp is waiving their revenue shares. This month many of our favourite jazz musicians are lending their support to the Black community and sending all their profits from this day to different charities.

Chose your favourite band/charity and get (or gift) some fabulous music while helping to support the community that founded jazz music.

Get some new tunes, support racial justice. That’s a win-win, right there.

04/28/2020

Bandcamp is back Friday, May 1st, waiving their revenue shares. If you missed out the last time or have spotted some new albums, it’s a fabulous time to get some new music and support your local or international musicians at this time - or you can gift albums to others!
For all 24 hours of May 1st (PST), 100% of what you pay for music on Bandcamp will go to the artist!

We’ve compiled a list of local swinging jazz artist and their Bandcamp pages:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WXKzEpfpWg4CnEKU76llN4Z_pd2Ao8xvcUs7jNIf1as/edit?usp=sharing

Or check out this international list that now boasts over 100 swing musicians!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16e_WUl_hVBcMpUVFuA27UsOV2KeWldkzUxkqZK9hE34/edit?fbclid=IwAR3N31d_9D_BXcxfvDpMMWeEEdC4dAARsWPbLoiDWT1XyWpTO0u2IqX-f4U =0

Sheet1 Artist,Album Link ,Grey denotes albums with Vancouver artists but not Vancouver lead Arnt Arntzen,http://arntmusic.com/ Blackstick,

04/04/2020

Jack Ray is an Australian guitarist, banjoist and vocalist who has performed and recorded with some of Australia’s and the world’s finest musicians including, JoJo Mason, Angus and Julia Stone, Kevin Louis, Jim Elliot (The Cruel Sea), Amanda Brown (Go-Betweens), Harpdog Brown, Casey McGill, Lloyd Arntzen and many other great artists.

Jack is currently based in Vancouver, BC and is in demand as a leader and sideman. He leads the group The Milk Crate Bandits as well as performing regularly with JoJo Mason, Steph Wall, and The Jen Hodge All Stars. He also founded the online-learning platform Jazz Banjo Academy.

You can buy the two EPs The Milk Crate Bandits recorded in New Orleans here
https://milkcratebandits.bandcamp.com/

Jack also releases many videos on tenor banjo playing on his youtube channel and covers of all the hot jazz favourites
https://www.youtube.com/user/jr136100

03/27/2020

Bonnie Northgraves is a brilliant Vancouver-based vocalist, trumpeter and pianist. She plays swinging jazz standards from the 20s, 30s and 40s and composes her own original music. You can hear her leading groups in her name or as part of groups such as Company B Jazz Band. Her smokey vocals and New Orleans style trumpet playing are always a treat to listen to.

In the last two weeks, Bonnie has been diving into the history of some of our best-loved jazz songs on her Youtube channel (link below). Through this online series called Jazz Story Time, you can learn about the original composers, lyricists, the song’s popularity and hear her play each song.

You can also check out Bonnie’s Bandcamp to purchase her new album or check Company B’s page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5YDCgJELL4
https://bonnienorthgraves.bandcamp.com/releases
https://companybjazz.bandcamp.com/

03/16/2020

Our first musician feature is the one and only Josh Roberts- A fabulous rhythmic guitarist, bandleader and sideman for many Vancouver bands! Originally from Chilliwack, BC his career has taken him across North America, Europe and even the Caribbean. He’s been playing for swing dancers for 15 years and has been featured at events throughout the Pacific North West including Camp Jitterbug, Ballhalla and Summer Solstice Swing Dance. He has also led the house big band for Vancouver’s own Lindy Bout.

Josh is offering online lessons in not only guitar but uke, banjo, musical theory and arranging.
To arrange a virtual lesson please visit his website joshroberts.ca/contact or email directly with the subject line Lessons to [email protected]

You can hear examples of his playing on All’s Fair in Love and Jazz by The Jen Hodge All Stars https://jenhodgebass.bandcamp.com/album/alls-fair-in-love-and-jazz
or
More of That by Jacob Zimmerman & Pals https://jacobrexzimmerman.bandcamp.com/

03/14/2020

It’s with a heavy heart that the Vancouver Swing Society announces the indefinite suspension of Hot Club Swing due to the rapidly-evolving COVID-19 situation in the Lower Mainland and Pacific Northwest. With all of the information available to us, we feel this is the most responsible decision at present. Regional health authorities are currently advising the cancellation of all public gatherings of over 250 people. Though Hot Club Swing typically draws a smaller number of attendees than this threshold, the close physical proximity of social dancing requires us to hold ourselves to a stricter standard to satisfy the need for social distancing .

During this time we will continue to feature content and to work with as many of our favourite bands and musicians as we can. The following weeks are going to hit many of them the hardest with the loss of gigs, and it’s their hard swinging jazz that keeps us dancing at all hours. Adding shoutouts on social media, commenting, liking and streaming content, or heading to Bandcamp or CDBaby to buy music and merch are some ways to make a difference.

We will continue to monitor the situation and hope to see you all in person soon!

Love and swing outs,
The Vancouver Swing Society

02/28/2020

This weekend’s extra special 5th Saturday Hot Club Swing is also a 50th birthday celebration for the one and only Greg Martin! He’s a long time Vancouver Lindy Hopper and supporter of the Vancouver Swing Society. Make sure you stick around for the birthday jam and cake 🎉🎂