[Dixielandjazz] Al Hirt, Bob Havens, and Eternity

[Dan Augustine]

Folks--
     The following is going to seem a little disjointed, but hang in 
there, i do have a point (yeah, and if i comb my hair right, 
nobody'll notice).
     This coming Monday night Ed Polcer's Jazz All-Stars is giving a 
concert in town, and a friend and neighbor of mine (Jeff Van Horn, 
president of the Austin Traditional Jazz Society) wondered if i had 
any recordings by him, as Jeff was going to do a radio interview 
about the concert.  As it happened, i did have the CD called "Coast 
to Coast Swingin' Jazz" (Jazzology JCD-198), which has Bob Havens 
playing trombone.  (The concert here has Dan Barrett on trombone.) 
The radio fellow (a trombonist himself) was blown away by Havens, 
never having heard him play before.  Jeff said he was going to make 
him a recording of other tunes that Havens plays on, and i said i'd 
do the same. Upon further reflection by each of us, we agreed that 
Havens is one of our favorite (maybe _the_ favorite) trombonists.  I 
looked in my collection and found a number of recordings that Havens 
is on, and i made a short CD of a number of tunes, mostly from the 
Great Pacific Jazz Band's cassette called "Music of Louis Armstrong" 
(it's a major crime that this is not on CD).
     But i also have four albums by Al Hirt from the 1950's that 
Havens plays on (plus some George Girard cuts on other albums), and 
he's especially good on the one that Pete Fountain is also on 
("Blockbustin' Dixie" is one of the album-names). So i listened to a 
couple of songs on it, and then i played Hirt's first LP for Audio 
Fidelity (AFLP 1877, from 1958) called "Al Hirt Swingin' Dixie! at 
Dan's Pier 600 in New Orleans", not expecting very much.  I mean, i 
don't think i've played it in 10 years, and only maybe five times in 
the last 40 years.  But (and here's where i'm coming to my point), i 
really enjoyed it.
     Aha, i see your gag reflex competing for ascendancy with the 
finger reaching for the delete-key, but hold on a second.  I, like 
everyone else, am under no compulsion to justify what i like to you, 
so i don't have to try to explain why i like something, just as you 
don't have to justify to me your knock-kneed and totally indefensible 
devotion to the twitterings of Crazy Otto.  Whatever.  It's OK to 
like what you like.
     However, let us examine the Al Hirt recordings in a more 
historical light: the players are all technically excellent (Harold 
Cooper on the clarinet), who play in tune, with good tone.  The 
arrangements are good, and occasionally inventive and even humorous 
(cf. "Saints").  While Hirt does try to play faster, louder, and 
higher than everyone, and while stylistically what he plays is not 
(shall we say) in the mainstream of dixieland expressions, his 
playing is interesting and doesn't make me bolt for the tone-arm (as 
some players with foul intonation make me do).  Harold Cooper acquits 
himself admirably, but the playing of Bob Havens is an ill-remembered 
joy to hear.  He has such a chorus-long melodic invention, along with 
superb chops, that i feel guilty not playing these records for so 
long.  (Bob, if you're reading this, bless you for being such a great 
player.)
     We all know people who dislike or hate music of some type, while 
others equally knowledgeable like or love the same stuff.  That's 
normal.  (Robert A. Heinlein had a line about 'experts', saying that 
you can always find one 'expert' to say the other one is a 
diamond-studded liar.)  But who cares?  Unfortunately, we do.  We 
tend to be influenced by the fear of what others will say, so we 
don't say anything at all, which just confirms and continues the 
problem.
     Well, to hell with you then, if you think this way.  I like ol' 
Al Hirt and Bob Havens and Harold Cooper, the (Assunto) Dukes of 
Dixleland, the Firehouse Five Plus Two, and even Kenny Ball, the 
Village Stompers, and Pee Wee Hunt.  I also like Jelly Roll Morton, 
the Condon gang, the Queen City JB, High Sierra, Caoba JB, the 
Society Syncopators, Bob Schulz, the Yerba Buena Stompers, the Sandy 
Lopicic Orkestar, and lots of others.  To me, 'art' is something you 
can experience multiple times with pleasure, and i get pleasure 
(different kinds, to be sure) from listening to all these bands and 
players.  It doesn't bother me if you don't like them; i'm sure you 
like stuff i have no use for.  But let's not step on others' 
pleasure, shall we?  It's OK to like what you like.

     Dan
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**  Dan Augustine     Austin, Texas     ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu  **
**    "I can't sing. As a singist I am not a success. I am saddest    **
**     when I sing. So are those who hear me. They are sadder even    **
**     than I am."  --  Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne)          **
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