[Dixielandjazz] Mainstream

[fred spencer]

Dear Anton,
"A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel!". Although not exactly apposit=
e,
this Shakespearean quotation (The Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 223. [Bartle=
tt.
Familiar Quotations]) is almost justified in the case of your "Danielesqu=
e"
revelation of the OED source of "Mainstream", which should settle it once=
 and
for all. Who could argue with that Oxford arbiter of the English language=
? I
have a  copy of Traill's "Concerning Jazz" and, on page 55, there it is! =
I
think we tend to forget about  the scholarly excellence of the OED in the=
 more
mundane world of jazz. I envy you if you own this priceless (that should =
be
pricey!) set.
Incidentally, there is an ongoing debate about the content of  the first
revision of another OUP publication, the 1885-1901 "Dictionary of  Nation=
al
Biography" (DNB). I wonder how many, if any,  jazz musicians will be incl=
uded
- perhaps Old Etonian "Humph", John Dankworth, CBE, and his wife, Dame Cl=
eo
Laine, Graeme Bell, MBE, Oscar Peterson, CC, and the late Ronnie Scott, O=
BE,
(even George Melly ?)? Anyone suggest others from the old country (UK) or=
 its
Commonwealth ? Cheers.
Fred
Anton Crouch wrote:

> Hello all
>
> The "Stanley Dance" hypothesis for the term "mainstream" is supported b=
y
> the OED, viz
>
> 1957  S. DANCE in S. Traill Concerning Jazz 55  Mainstream jazz, typifi=
ed
> by musicians like Basie, Ellington..Armstrong.
>
> 1957 Jazz News Apr. 2/3 Rising like a Pheonix [sic] from the dying embe=
rs
> of the British modern jazz world is a musical form that has been tagged
> =91Mainstream=92.
>
> 1960 Sunday Times 11 Sept. 37/1 Very broadly you can break up jazz
> asymmetrically into the big, simple, driving noise of the traditionalis=
ts
> and the
> smaller, sophisticated, elegiac sound of modern jazz. In between, there=
 is
> a discernible third group of =91mainstream=92 enthusiasts.
>
> 1961 New Left Rev. July-Aug. 42/2 Humph is authentic mainstreamer: he's
> been influenced by everything in jazz up to the moment.
>
> All the best
> Anton
>
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