[Dixielandjazz] OKOM bands of 40-50 years ago

[Patrick Cooke]

Steve said:

>>There are some very fine performing OKOM bands in this world, but most do
not hold a candle to the OKOM bands of 40-50 years ago.<<

      Most of the OKOM bands of today ARE the same guys who played it 40-50
years ago.....myself included.

Pat Cooke

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet@earthlink.net>
To: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 4:15 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Ain't that the truth was Barbone Street Review


> Well, lets see, Rebecca talked about "energy" and somehow that got
> twisted by folks to include bead throwing and antics and who knows what
> else. None of that is energy and neither Rebecca nor the Barbone Street
> Jazz Band nor the reviewer said that it was. Do I detect some
> "preconceived opinions"?
>
> Re read the entire quote Rebecca referred to. It says "While the average
> age of the band members is 70 years old, you wouldn't know it from their
> energetic performances. THE ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIANSHIP, HOWEVER WOULD
> HAVE GIVEN AWAY THEIR AGE."
>
> Perhaps the reviewer meant she was surprised that a 72 year old could
> still blow trombone so well that he was heard and enjoyed by 3500
> people, in a park, without a microphone. Of course, 20 years ago he was
> acknowledged by the musically informed as one of the 4 best trombonists
> in the world so why should that be surprising.  Or that a 72 year old
> bass player could keep up with the tempos playing an "old style" high
> bridge bass that requires some effort to pull the strings. Or perhaps
> she was surprised that this "Old" band out plays most other bands, of
> any musical style, she ever heard.
>
> Now, there is nothing there about antics, or beads and funny hats, or
> anything else that the negative nabobs have made up their minds about.
> Nothwisthstanding that they fancy themselves as know
> everything about OKOM literati who are the only ones qualified to judge
> musical performance and therefore only their opinions should be taken as
> an acknowledgment of an informed response about musicianship. What
> egotistic nonsense.
>
> There are some very fine performing OKOM bands in this world, but most
> do not hold a candle to the OKOM bands of 40-50 years ago. So I
> personally don't worry about  today's "informed opinions" of
> knowledgeable OKOM musicians and fans. They don't compare to the
> opinions of those musos who played OKOM during that earlier time period.
> (read they are meaningless)
>
> The musical world is littered with the ill conceived opinions of so
> called knowledgeable musos, critics, and fans, as well as the regular
> people. What is worse, is that the so called literati should know
> better. If musically "informed opinions" had held sway in the early
> 1900s, there would be no OKOM and/or no Jazz. Thank goodness, that those
> ill informed commoners, (who bought ODJB records, and Bechet's and
> Armstrong's) the kind of folks Barbone Street likes to perform before,
> prevailed.
>
> What a pity that many of us who love OKOM don't see fit to make an
> effort to expand it's audience. What is the alternative?  To preside
> over it's demise?
>
> Musical content includes "You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Song
> Is About You."
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> PS. Energy, as many define it, means what Jim Cullum says at many
> performances to the audience. "Can't you just feel the energy radiating
> from this band?" I think he is a serious player, with a seriously good
> band. They do have energy. If you can't hear it, or you don't know what
> he means, you are less musically informed then you thought.
>
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