[Dixielandjazz] The Million Dollar Question redux

[Don Ingle]

Jim, you wrote, re: Cutty Cutschall and Edmund Hall:
   >There won't be any more of this calber and character.<
The truth is that there weren't all that many back then, which is why they
stand out in our memories. I recently tried starting a post on unsung
clarinetists -- you and few others responded. Yet in the long run only a
little over a dozen/dozen and a half were mentioned...this from a rather
knowledgable bunch on the list.
Even though the days of the big band and the small jazz combo saw many
musicians working and recording, the ones we tend to remember for their
playing remains a small number by comparison. There were many good, talented
journeymen jazz players over time, but only a handful of truly great ones.
Which is precisely why we remember them so well. And we are professionals
who had a chance to know and listen to many and make judgments based on
experience and exposure..
There may, in fact be more of this "caliber and character" to come. But not
any great number -- then, now, or in the future. We just have to keep
listening -- and learning.
Don Ingle