[Dixielandjazz] dancing

[garwall2]

Listmates in general and Jeanne in particular,
   Before I became married and was an unattached G.I. I went someplace to
dance two or three nights every week. The venues did not have to be a
particular genre but it did have to swing. Made no difference whether it was
Swing, Jazz, Country or whatever. The main factor was how the band related
to the audience. Some bands were there to entertain themselves and some were
there to entertain the customers, all of them, dancers and sitters alike. If
they were not doing the job we left.
 Traditional jazz from the very beginning was, is and always be dancing
music. The happy kind.
   Modern jazz seems to have been devised for the benefit of musicians for
musicians.
   Towards the end of their popularity the big bands seemed to have gone the
same route. I visited the Palladium in Hollywood and the Balboa in Newport
Beach, Ca. on a few occasions and depending on who was playing there might
not be any place to dance despite the very large size of these halls. To
name one, it appeared to me that Tex Beneke did not encourage dancing. Maybe
I'm wrong then again maybe it was just fast dancing.
   It used to be that there were more fans than musicians on this list and
the strings took a different tack. Be that as it may. We need each other. No
fans no musicians and no musicians no fans.
   It appears Jeanne that you and I pretty much feel the same about all
kinds of danceable music even though I am probably twice as old and the
dance floor is off limits to me as it is to many others. It isn't that we
don't want to get out there but the old body just won't let us so we sit and
watch.
   For those of you who may remember me from the past, my e-mail address has
changed and in a couple of weeks will change again. We finally after all
this time are getting a high speed connection out here in the boonies!
   All of you have a healthy and prosperous new year. May your gig book be
full and may all of you attend as many Dixieland venues as you can.
    Gary (ol' one lung) Wallbridge