[Dixielandjazz] More on kazoos

[R & V Thompson]

Re the kazoo discussion of late.

Last year I saw for sale a booklet entitled "Here's to the Next Time:
Carnival Jazz Bands of the Nineteen-Twenties and Thirties" by Brian
Holland, published in Manchester, England, in 1988. Never having heard
of "Carnival Jazz Bands," I was intrigued and sent away for it--just a
couple of bucks. But on reading it, I discovered (as I suspected) that
the subject had nothing really to do with what most of those on this
list would call "jazz." 

These Carnival Jazz Bands apparently were mainly found in the mill towns
of Northern England and the mining areas of South Wales and consisted of
anywhere from 10 or 11 uniformed members to 50 and up, the
instrumentation being percussion and kazoos! Percussion was comprised of
drums, cymbals, "rickers" (a kind of clapper, apparently--probably
something like a slapstick), and castanets; the kazoos, according to the
booklet, were "tapered metal cone[s] eighteen inches in length, with the
diameter of the outer end of the horn varying according to the
individual. A deep voiced player would probably have a six inch opening,
whilst the higher-pitched harmony players in the band often used horns
as narrow as two or three inches in diameter." (I seem to recall seeing
a picture of Tony Spargo (Sbarbaro) of the ODJB with one that resembled
those described above.)  These bands played in parades and competitions;
some were all-male, some all-female, and some mixed. The booklet goes on
to give lists of such bands and their personnel, competitions held and
the results, but nothing of repertoires. 

The author speculates they were called "jazz bands" probably because the
original kazoo bands, apparently going as far back as 1908, lacked
uniforms and were "ragged and undisciplined," hence "jazzy," the "y"
being later dropped. (Of course, none of today's jazz bands could be
called "ragged and undisciplined."  Could they?) 

Anyone ever heard of these "carnival jazz [kazoo] bands" and their
repertoires? 

Bert Thompson