[Dixielandjazz] Banjo Styles & Bolden

[Goggin, Brian (Dublin)]

No - Bud Scott used the 4-string tenor banjo - this is clearly visible in
the 1926 photos of King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators. He was a violinist
aswell.

Johnny St. Cyr was adept on the tenor banjo and the 6-string guitar banjo.

I guess they had to strum hard allright, but the rhythm would come through
allright. The NO guys naturally had a good notion of balance - see the
chapter on this in Bill Russell's New Orleans Style - in an acoustic set-up,
if space allowed they naturally lined up in one line in the order something
like drums, trombone, cornet(s), clarinet(s), guitar, bass, which naturally
balanced the sound. See the 1918 MArable pictures, the 1905 Ory band picture
and several others.



> -----Original Message-----
> From:	briantowers [SMTP:briantowers at msn.com]
> Sent:	Thursday, January 23, 2003 3:03 PM
> To:	dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Subject:	Re: [Dixielandjazz] Banjo Styles  & Bolden
> 
> Bob,
> I believe Bud Scott could have been using his six string banjo, tuned as a
> guitar.
> He did this sometimes, as did Johnny St Cyr.
> 
> But lets not forget that these guys were both originally guitarists who
> switched to banjo to "keep up with the times"  Then, when the times
> changed
> again, they went back to guitar!
> 
> As we all know from the photo, Bolden was using guitar in his band, which
> dates back to at least 1895.    I often wonder how the band baolance would
> have sounded - Bolden, with his reputed very strong and loud playing style
> on cornet, backed by a bowed bass and an acoustic guitar - there were no
> P.A. systems to help them out!
> Hmmm!
> 
> Brian Towers,
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <BOBOBANJOB at aol.com>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 9:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Banjo Styles
> 
> 
> > Echoing Brian Towers comments, Bud Scott on banjo with Jimmy Noone's
> Chigago
> > band
> > of the late '20s, provides a clean driving rhythm. It sounds like he's
> using
> > plectrum tuning,
> > but I can't say for sure...but he creates an incisive mellow tone on the
> > instrument.
> >
> > Later, in the '50s, when he played with Kid Ory's band he switched to
> guitar,
> > with Joe Garland on bass.
> > I guess to keep up with changing times.
> >
> > Bob Sann
> >
> >
> >
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> 
> 
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