LEAGUE OF DECENY

The League of Decency's chameleon ability to be the ever polite and accommodating dance band servicing the muckety-muks of Southern society is the same trait that allows LOD to mangle well-known and obscure tunes to suit a very different view of music. Its traditional Soul-Band/Jazz Septet instrumentation of trumpet, sax, bone with rhythm section allows for a rich variety of musical styles and sonic textures.

So, a swing version of "Radar Love", a klezmer styled "Caldonia", a reggae "At Last", a ska version of "All Shook Up", all work for the League. Combine that with solid originals like "Bible Belt Bopper" and "Swingin' For Crack" and you're in for an entertaining night. Hey, Tony Bennett asked for the sheet music for their "Jumpin' At The Jubilee" and that same tune was "broadcast on "The Chris Isaak Show." As the League's first drummer, intimated back in 1984, it's all decent and polite on the outside, but shed the skin and there is a very unpredictable monster lurking inside.

In 1984, The League of Decency began with a successful four-year run at The Point, a night club in Little Five Points, just east of downtown Atlanta. By the time the Point changed hands in 1988, the League had a sterling reputation among dancers and lovers of Soul and Swing. In 1990, band leader, Tommy Dean expanded the horn section to three pieces, giving the band a full-bodied and versatile sound that continues to please sophisticated listeners.

When the League of Decency plays a club or concert, the emphasis is on jazz and blues. When working a private or corporate event, the band is able to draw its material from traditional Jazz of the thirties and forties, Jump-Blues and Roots Rock 'n' Roll from the fifties, as well as sixties' Soul, seventies' Funk, and select tunes from the eighties. The League does not work with fixed set-lists of songs, because flexibility is the key to their expertise. Audience reaction is constantly monitored to determine what comes next. Musical selection and presentation is always determined by the situation at hand.

The League of Decency formed in Atlanta in 1984 by Tommy Dean and Bruce Hampton cohort, Billy McPhersen. Dean is now lead vocalist for eight musicians on electric bass, keys, guitar, drums, trombone and alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. The group plays a mix of original and cover tunes rooted in Rhythm & Blues, Swing, Latin, Jump Blues and Rock 'n' Roll.

A typical performance by the League of Decency will expose an audience to the music of Duke Ellington, Bobby Bland, Willie Dixon, Frank Zappa, Louis Prima, Louis Jordan, James Brown and other seminal artists from the great cauldron of American music, while including their own tunes that combine musical elements from these influences in their own remarkable way.

The League of Decency puts the emphasis on great tunes and exciting musicianship. They have shared the stage with Delbert McClinton, Koko Taylor, the Nighthawks, the Royal Crown Revue and NRBQ. The band's opening music for Jr. Walker's concert so inspired the sax legend that he sat in on the League's set before he headlined the show.

This is a group of musicians that are serious about showing every audience a good time. Other artists instantly recognize their extraordinary ability and talent.

SONG LIST:

DINNER MUSIC & BALLROOM DANCING

AND I LOVE HER - Lennon/McCartney with an easy, rhumba-like spin
AT LAST an old classic that was a hit for Etta James - slow 12/8 feel
BLUE MOON a familiar standard we return to its swing origins - mid-tempo, fox-trot
BYE, BYE BLACKBIRD - up-tempo, happy, and familiar with a big finish
CARAVAN Jaun Tizol’s exotic tune performed by Duke Ellington Band - an up-tempo latin feel
CORCAVADO(Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) Jobim's meditative contemplation of love
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES - poetic J.Mercer lyrics set to an easy fox-trot by Henry Mancini
FLY ME TO THE MOON was a hit for Frank Sinatra - we play it as a swinging fox-trot
FOREVER FOR NOW is by Harry Connick Jr. - a swinging piece with a surreal lyric
GEORGIA everybody loves this Hoagy Carmichael classic made famous by Ray Charles
GIRL FROM IPANEMA is Antonio Jobim’s big hit - Nice when guests are being served dinner
HONEYSUCKLE ROSE is a rollicking Fats Waller classic - up-tempo swing
I REMEMBER YOU is one of Johnny Mercer's most beautiful lyrics
IN THE MOOD - nothing subtle about this one - Glenn Miller’s hit says, “Let’s party!”
IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN’T - a Louis Jordan hit performed on Broadway and by Nat Cole
IT HAD TO BE YOU is a classic ballad that usually fills the dance floor
KALAMAZOO - "I got a gal in Kalamazoo" ooh, put on your dancing shoes
MEDITATION -Antonio Jobim, as mellow as we get; soothing bossa-nova w/lush horn harmony
MOON RIVER - written by the unsurpassed Mercer/Mancini - we do it as a waltz
ONE O'CLOCK JUMP - Hard to top this for swinging grooves from Count Basie's band
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET - up-tempo swing, fun and familiar
ONE MINT JULEP - we swing it about where In The Mood feels
ROUTE 66 was a hit for Nat “King” Cole - easy swinging and bluesy
SATIN DOLL Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer - for people who love to dance
SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN - soothing mid-tempo swing - a comfortable fox-trot
SKYLARK a beautiful Johhny Mercer lyric with music by Hoagie Carmichael - sweet and slow
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by George and Ira Gershwin is a lovely ballad
SOMETIMES I’M HAPPY by Irving Ceasar and Vincent Youmans - a standard for King Pleasure
SWEET LORRAINE - a mid-tempo fox-trot - a big hit for Nat “King” Cole
TAKE THE “A” TRAIN by Billy Strayhorn was the theme for Duke Ellington's Band
TEACH ME TONIGHT - our own dazzling arrangement of this Sammy Kahn delight
THINK FOR YOURSELF by Lennon and McCartney was never so cool
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC - Louis Prima’s sparkling arrangement of J. Mercer’s classic lyric
UNFORGETTABLE - an unforgettable hit ballad for Nat and Natalie Cole
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD was a hit for Louis Armstrong - easy slow-dance in 12/8
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE is a romantic mid-tempo swing number - an mellow fox-trot
YOU DON’T KNOW ME a hit for Ray Charles & Mickey Gilley - a nice slow one with a 12/8 feel

PARTY-DANCE MUSIC

300 POUNDS OF JOY by Willie Dixon for Howlin’ Wolf - pure Chicago Blues
AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG - "I know you want to leave me..." Motown Classic
ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS ROCK is Wynonie Harris’s hit for hard-core blues shaggers
ALL SHOOK UP by Elvis Presley - good for shifting from formal to casual dancing
AT THE DARK END OF THE STREET by Dan Penn - 60's hit ballad for many artists
BIG RED CABOOSE is our own little ditty with that big-leg beat
BRICK HOUSE - "She's mighty, mighty - built like an Amazon"
(CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THAT) FUNKY STUFF - Kool and the Gang - I said, "whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah!"
CALDONIA, what makes yo big haid so hard? Louis Jordan’s huge jump hit, a good fit for us
COLD SWEAT/I FEEL GOOD - back to back James Brown for a crowd that’s movin
DON'T LOOK BACK - "If It's Love that you're running from..." Motown Classic
FARTHER UP THE ROAD - Bobby Blue Bland’s hit - a Chicago-style shuffle
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE - goodness gracious! Jerry Lee’s got a 50's crowd pleaser
I CAN"T HELP MYSELF - Sugar Pie, Honey bunch, You know I love you - Motown Classic
I GOT MY MOJO WORKIN’ - Louis Jordan’s version of Willie Dixon’s hit for Muddy Waters
INTO THE MYSTIC - Fabulous Van Morrison Soul ballad
JAILHOUSE ROCK - the drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang...Elvis
JUNGLE BOOGIE - Kool and the Gang. Get down, get down
KNOCK ON WOOD by Eddie Floyd; a huge hit for Wilson Pickett...na,na,na,knock on wood
KISS - written by Prince. Performed by Prince and Tom Jones and now the League
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL - “you only live once, and when yer dead yer done” L.Jordan
LET’S GO, LET’S GO, LET’S GO - Hank Ballard - “there’s a thrill upon the hill...”
MAMBO #5 - Louis Bega's infectious dance hit with a real kickin' horn section
MUSTANG SALLY ... you know, ride, Sally, ride - fun and familiar
MY GIRL - The Temptations biggest hit - Motown Classic
PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG - the Godfather’s bag makes ‘em groove
PERSON TO PERSON - Scotland's funkiest band, AWB, smash followup to Pick Up The Pieces
REACH OUT, I'LL BE THERE - The Four Tops greatest hit - another Motown Classic
SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL “you won’t do nuthin’ to save yer doggone soul” Big Joe Turner
SEPTEMBER - Earth, Wind and Fire's best dance number
SEX MACHINE - get up, get up, right on, right on, shake your money maker... James Brown
SHOUT a little bit louder now, a little bit softer, y’all, oh, oh, oh,oh - full tilt - “Gator, gator!”
SING A SIMPLE SONG - Yaaah, ya, ya, yah, yah...Sly and the Family Stone - got to dance
SLEDGEHAMMER - Peter Gabriel's hit - "This is the good stuff."
SOUL MAN - the Blues Brothers knew SAM and DAVE had a good thing going with this one
UNDER THE BOARDWALK - the Drifters classic for Beach Freaks
YOU’VE GOT THE RIGHT STRING, BABY, BUT THE WRONG YOYO - Piano Red
WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN - Percy Sledge’s giant 60's cheatin’ dirge
BORN TO BE WILD - Steppenwolf's Easy Rider anthem
BRICK HOUSE - "She's mighty, mighty, mighty, Built like an Amazon "
FUNKY STUFF - Kool and the Gang resurrected from Back in the Day. Unh!
GET DOWN TONIGHT - mo' funk
GIMME, GIMME SOME LOVIN' - Spencer Davis Group/Blues Brothers
JUNGLE BOOGIE - Kool and the Gang demonstrate more astonishing lyrical profundity! Lord Byron would've wept.
LIVIN' IN THE USA - Steve Miller's frantic radio debut
ROADHOUSE BLUES - Little Jimmy Morrison said it, "The future's uncertain and the end is always near"
TROUBLE EVERYDAY - Frank Zappa's epic discourse on the Watts riots
WITHIN YOU AND WITHOUT YOU - We were talking about the space between your ears - from Sgt. Peppers.
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE? - more Mothers of Invention