[Dixielandjazz] "Mainstream"

[David W. Littlefield]

At 02:13 PM 1/3/2003 -0500, Steve Barbone wrote:
> 4. Jazz, a style of playing that
>evolved in the 1950s, based on rhythmic and harmonic elements of swing,
>modified slightly by those of bop.
>
>That's pretty concise and just maybe not too far off the mark depending
>upon how one defines "modified slightly". ;-)
>Steve Barbone

I like that definition, except that when I'm talking to prospects, I add a
stronger sense of modernism to the description, and I don't use the term
"swing". Due in part to the DC area community of musicians one chooses
from: so many of the musicians sprang from "modern" jazz to one extent or
another, that many of them couldn't sound like authentic OKOM to save their
lives; they use modernish chords, tend to play a more "cool" and technical
style, and in a group they follow more modern rules, eg the bass and drums
are the equal of the horns; the piano is basically one-handed and many
pianists couldn't provide rhythm to save their lives; the drummers insist
on using the ride cymbal rather than high-hat for "In the mood" etc., and
they tend to use a post-1950 Basie band style that bumps and clatters
a-rhythmatically, quite antithetical to smooth, straight 4/4 rhythm that
supports both horns and dancers. And they don't know the old music at all
well enough to relate to instructions intended to put them on the right
path... 

The point of the above is make clear that there are often significant
differences between classic "swing" and "mainstream" that probably don't
make much or any difference to most listeners, but definitely make a
difference to those who like mainly OKOM...

Personally, I HATE bump-and-clatter drumming...

--Sheik