Ross Mitchell – Masterclass

Despite its title, Masterclass is a dance-music album, with a programme built around named songs and dance categories. It begins with the Quicksteps Put On A Happy Face and On A Clear Day, then moves through Waltz and Foxtrot pairs before Poinciana and Falling In Love With Love introduce Tango and Viennese Waltz. This opening makes the collection useful for dancers who want several Standard rhythms within one programme.

The Latin and related selections add a different range of repertoire. Mockin Bird and Some Of These Days are assigned to Cha Cha; Something In My Eye and I Love You And Don't You Forget It to Samba. Colours Of The Wind and In All The Right Places provide the Rumba pair, followed by Limbo Rock and Papa Loves Mambo in the source's Mambo/Bossa Nova category. Rather than leaving customers to infer a rhythm from a familiar song, the original dance labels remain attached to each entry.

The closing Jive section is especially worth distinguishing: The House Of Blue Lights, The Wanderer as Slow Jive, and an extended version of The House Of Blue Lights are separate entries. Keeping both House Of Blue Lights recordings available gives customers a choice of version alongside the slower Jive selection. All nineteen selections form a varied repertoire for class planning, practice and general ballroom listening.

Track List