[Tradjazz] '' TRAD JAZZ", "DIXIELAND" OR "CLASSIC JAZZ"??

[RICK KNITTEL]

Bruce;

I am very much in agreement with most of what you wrote. More
specifically to me, the only reason I discuss various styles of jazz
related to labels like "New Orleans", "Chicago", "New York" was because
other people, usually non-musicians, ask me what style I preferred
listening to. It wasn't really important to me to pigeon hole a band or a
musician into a particular slot like "West Coast Revivial" although most
musicians could usually tell who a band was by the sound of that band but
that sound was, in large part, characterized by the musicians in the band
with ensemble parts of bands like Goodman, Basie, Herman, and others of
that persuasion the exception because of the arrangers each band used. I,
like you, enjoy hearing most types of music although not all groups play
stuff I enjoy hearing. Incidentally, I have some cuts of Woody Hermen
playing some great Dixieland jazz clarinet. I think it is impossible to
assign hard and fast rules as to what is jazz but, for me, it USUALLY
involves improvisation (for me much of what Kenton did was different from
the jazz I really enjoyed but attractive because it was new and different
AND USED JAZZ MUSICIANS to play his compositions and arrangements). It
seems that, for me, who the performing musicians are and whether they are
allowed to express themselves in the  performance of a piece determines
whether the piece is jazz or not. Even the Boston Pops play jazz if it
features jazz musicians improvising in their style of performance. 

Rick Knittel - JAZZBONE - The Maine Street Paraders