Home About the Band Songlist CD Schedule Contact
 |
|
Photo by Tom Hoebbel |
Thanks so much for giving us such a good show Friday night. Everyone here thought it was a great evening, and we agree. I have to tell you I am always impressed by the range and power of your performances - plus the great material. Couldn't have asked for more! - Richard Newman, Rochester Swing Dance Network
|
About the Band |
| Diana Leigh & Crazy Rhythm have
been firing up the East Coast swing scene since 1993. Hailing
from Ithaca, NY, they serve up swing as hot as it comes and blues as
cool as you like it, from the Duke to Dinah Washington. They
have appeared at dance events in Washington DC, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Boston, Northampton, Hartford, Rochester, Syracuse,
Poughkeepsie, Albany, and of course, their own home town, Ithaca.
The band features Diana, with her silvery, powerful voice.
Backing her are some of the area's finest musicians, on piano, sax,
bass, and drums. Mix it up and you get solid rhythm: Crazy
Rhythm will put the beat in your boogie! This is most definitely a "dancer’s band" because it is led by a veteran swing dancer! Diana has been dancing for over fifteen years. For six years she was a member of The ExtravaDancers, a semi-professional swing dance performance troupe. She also taught jitterbug with Bill Borgida for two years, and has been active in the Ithaca Swing Dance Network for over a decade, helping to bring swing events alive in the region. But mostly, she just likes to dance! Lindy and West Coast Swing rank as equal favorites, but there are few partner dances she doesn’t enjoy. Because she’s a dancer, Diana’s repertoire is tailor-made for swing dancing, including song length, tempi, mix of tunes.... She knows what dancers need and want, and she delivers! Diana Leigh's vocal style has been described as "sweet, sultry, and smooth" as well as "dynamic," depending on how the song strikes her. She has been performing in a variety of formats for over 25 years. Her background includes blues, rock, country, folk, reggae, and eclectic a=capella, but her heart is in the swing and jazz standards of the 20=s through the 50=s. Born in Manhattan to a jazz trumpeter and a classical French horn player, Diana grew up in the musical hotbed of Woodstock, NY, where music was "a way of life.@ She was also involved in theater during those formative years. Moving to Ithaca in the late 1980=s, Diana has been a member of a number of local groups over the years including The Little Big Band, The Blue Blazers, Sugar Moon, The Riveters, and The UnderTones. |