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

[Bruce McNichols]

Hey Jazzbone,

So nice to read your thoughts.  Finally!  A guy who agrees with me - - -  sort of.   Of course, none of us is ever gonna see eye to eye, on everything.  At least some of us, are pretty much on the same wavelength.

I see that Trevor Rippingale (leader of the New Wolverine Orchestra of Australia) is pretty much in there with us.  I'm guessing that there are a lot of musicians and buffs, who will be with us.  Mainly, because we are NOT saying that one type of music is good, and another is not.  Instead, we seem to be acknowledging that there is no good and no bad.  Of course, we know what we like and what we don't.
  Recently, I've been having a go-round with my pal, Bill Taggart, about the term Trad Jazz.   I think that "Traditional Jazz" refers pretty much, to "old-time jazz."  I think that the term "Trad Jazz" means "Traditional Jazz."

  I gather that Bill thinks that Trad Jazz means British bands.  I call that "British Trad Jazz."  To further thicken the plot, I think that "British Trad Jazz" is a style of music and can be played by non-British bands.  As we know, there are bands in Japan, that play New Orleans music.  Further, there are bands in South America, that play San Francisco style jazz.

  Whew!
I was delighted when John Gill (banjo, drums, bone and ten year veteran of the Turk Murphy band) told me that up until the time he played with my group (The Smith Street Society Jazz Band), he was hesitant to admit to some of his musical likes.  For instance, he said that he first heard the song "Bad Boy" when he was with us and we played it.  It was a Rhythm & Blues hit in the 1950's.  It was only later that he discovered (and told me) that the tune was written by Lillian Hardin Armstrong.  We played it because we liked the tune.  Dat's all.

I'm guessing that some of our discussion group members, might take issue with a band that strays far from the basic trad jazz repertoire (and instrumentation).

I say:  
IT AIN'T WHATCHA DO, IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT.

What do you (everyone) say?

McN


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RICK KNITTEL" <knittelsportland at juno.com>
To: <tradjazz at list.okom.com>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 8:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Tradjazz] '' TRAD JAZZ", "DIXIELAND" OR "CLASSIC JAZZ"??



> 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

> 

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