[Dixielandjazz] Mixed race lineups, Chicago Style

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/22/03 10:32:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time, JimDBB at aol.com 
writes:

> >three -- Mike McKendrick (a lovely and gentle man who played guitar and
> >banjo), drummer Freddy Kohlman, and bassman Quinn Wilson, who as a
> >16-year-old recorded on tuba with Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. In
> >fact in 1963 there was a fourth black player, pianist Earl Washington,
> 

Hi guys:

It is wonderful that you guys whom I highly regard on this list had better 
experiences working with Black players.

And the time period as stated above by Jim would have been pretty much a the 
last heyday of OKOM in the live music club scene as I recall, when it was 
still alive and doing very well across the USA.  

I entered the booking scene in 1967-1976 and saw Earthquake Magoon's close, 
Clancey's close and everywhere except a few hold out pizza joints with a 
banjoist stop booking OKOM at all.

When the employment marketplace dried up for the music most Black and White 
players started migrating to other forms of Jazz to try and earn a living, many 
Black musicians had already started moving on even earlier in the sixties to 
Rhythm & Blues and later Soul music, etc.

I can assure you that I did not make up the stories I related to, just to 
stir up controversy on this list, I have been a booking agent for over thirty 
years and started being one by booking my own band full of Black players when I 
could not get any agent to book us and for just the reasons I mentioned in my 
posts.  I was determined to break that system if it killed me, and I eventually 
opened many great doors for Black artists to work, and I still do so whenever 
I see an opportunity.

I will go back once again and say that if we want to see new younger OKOM 
Jazz players, (Black and White) carry on this music, then we and no one else must 
go back into the schools and community centers and TEACH and expose these 
kids to the music and show them first hand how much fun it is to play.

I have twenty-five Black guys in my pool of players and carry thirteen on my 
live touring shows most of the time, all of them love playing the music and 
never balk at playing it and not one of them has ever said to me that it was too 
hard.   Ages from 23 to 63 year old kids.

One of my current Tuba players (50 something year old kid) does not want to 
tour with us if we are going to play anything other than Dixieland, now go 
figure that one, that is why I have three Tuba Players and am always looking for 
another.  I try to play good music of all kinds that audiences can relate to.  
That is what I call OKOM because I insist upon including my audiences in the 
OKOM.  Now my youngest one 31 years old is a bass player who played Tuba in the 
Sacramento Lancers marching band, who thinks playing with old guys is not 
hip, and he is a pain in the behind on the road anyway, so we recently fired him, 
too bad because he can play well, just an arrogant little turd that can't get 
along with anybody.  We have actually fired him twice and he has begged to 
come back, but the last time was indeed the last time, nobody will work with him 
again.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins
White boy still playing that Funky Music.