[Dixielandjazz] Pres. Hall's Stories

[JimDBB at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/13/2003 2:30:33 AM Central Standard Time, 
TCASHWIGG at aol.com writes:

> And all this fodder feeds the MYTH of what a GREAT BAND they were or are 
> still purported to be, at best they were barely adequate players consisting 
> of 
> unemployed musicians with no place else to work, because of habits and 
> problems, 
> or not being good enough to play in the working bands around New Orleans and 
> 
> road bands.
> 
> Somebody posted a comment by some great legendary New Orleans player about 
> why he never played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and his comment was 
> 
> "None of those guys were good enough to play with me twenty-five years ago 
> why 
> the Hell would I want to play with them now."
> 
> That pretty much dispels the MYTH about the Quality of that Organization and 
> 
> it's players no matter how much we try to glamorize the band.  They were and 
> 
> are still a bunch of wannabes or never were players not quite good enough to 
> do 
> anything better.
> 
> It is too easy to write a fictitious story about some old Black guy and his 
> years of long suffering and being a struggling musician in the shadow of 
> Louis 
> Armstrong and other greats.  I am sorry folks but Being Old and Black and 
> holding a musical instrument having no teeth, and a cigarette hanging out of 
> his 
> mouth does not make them a LIVING LEGENDARY Blues or Jazz Player.
> 
> I have personally seen many of these old folks trotted out to the festival 
> circuit as Legends
> and the audiences who never saw or heard them in their pitiful youth forgive 
> 
> their arthritis and lack of skills in performing, merely attributing it to 
> their glorified status as Legends in the media to sell tickets.  When in all 
> 
> actuality they never were very good.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Tom Wiggins

   This is so true, Tom Wiggins, that I had to repeat it.  You had 
better hope that Wynton Marsalis does not get wind of this.

   Jim Beebe