[Dixielandjazz] Re: Better Players

[Stephen Barbone]

> "Rev M J (Mike) Logsdon" <mjl at ix.netcom.com> wrote
>
> > And the players get better and better. (Barbone's view)
>
> Okay....  I'm not one for controversy, least of all in a jazz venue.
> And I certainly hope that my contribution contained herein is not
> interpreted as controversial.  So here goes:
>
> The players get better?  This is, at best, a highly subjective, and
> completely indefensible, proposition.  (The subjective in life can only
> be explained or described, not "defended.")  Could this be a jazz
> version of what C S Lewis calls "chronological snobbery"

Hey Rev:

No not "chronological snobbery" as described by dear old C S. Far from it.

Check your scriptures. "Better", as described herein, is totally objective,. Those that play better than Louis do so
because:

1) They play Higher.

2) They Play Faster

3) They play Cleaner

4) They are better masters of the horn.

5) The play vastly more complex harmonics.

Those are THE SAME objective measurements that were used to make the case that Louis was "better" than his
contemporaries back in the 1920s and 1930s.

Regarding someone's comment that Clifford Brown couldn't play what Louis played, that is just not the case. Clifford
had all the ammunition. Excellent tone, great feel/fire, great ideas, and a great melodic approach. To deny that he
outplays Louis is simply a case of tunnel vision, or being stuck in the musical time warp of the 1920s / 30s.

Many players today easily replicate exactly what Louis played. I can recall Peter Ecklund doing so, as well as others.
The hard part is the fire, the feeling, and the fact that Louis was THE ORIGINATOR.

But then, as powerful as they are, fire and feel are subjective measures as interpreted by each of us differently. The
numbered measurements above are completely objective. If you answer "yes" to them regarding a player like Brown what
possible conclusion can you reach except that Brown plays better?

By the same token, damn few trumpet players today can replicate what Brown played, or best him in those 5 measurements
above. (objective) Nor match his tone or his fire. (subjective) And certainly not his musical ideas. (objective)

I certainly give Louis his due. Is a fair statement to say "I like Louis better than any other trumpet player." Fine,
but that is where the subjectivity rules. It is an opinion and cannot be argued. But after 50 years of listening to a
crop of later trumpet players who so obviously play the horn better than he did, I can't help but reach the conclusion
I've stated. They are better horn players.

A player like Clifford Brown did in 5 years what would have taken the rest of us a lifetime to do, if indeed we were
capable. Suggest those of you who disagree, take some time outs, and LISTEN to his recorded legacy. One of the saddest
days in the history of jazz was in 1956 when he was killed in an automobile crash. He left us much too soon. Oh my,
what if?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone.