[Dixielandjazz] Swing, or it don't mean a thing

[Stephen Barbone]

John Farrell wrote (polite snip) about swing bands

> I would rather stay at home sipping a malt than play in a band like
that, no
> matter how much money was offered. If that's entertainment you can
keep it -
> give me badly paid, honest-to-goodness, beadless, unadulterated jazz
every
> time.

Hi John & Listmates:

I agree with where I think John is coming from, except for the
"beadless" part. :-)

If the music a band plays does not swing, then IMO it don't mean a
thing, with due credit to Duke Ellington's song saying it first.

That is one of the biggest problems with any style of "jazz" today. Much
of it simply does not swing.

Why does Barbone Street get so much work? Well, besides the beads and
the audience connection, the band swings like crazy, and we make no
concessions that might dilute REAL jazz. We play the real thing.

Open invite to John and any other competent jazz musician out there that
might come into our territory for a visit. Come sit in, have a blast
with us, and find out what it is like to play with a jazz band, that
improvs 95% of the time on both ensembles and solos. Take your shot at
continuous creativity, if you dare.

Then, if the mood strikes you, you might even loosen up and throw some
beads around, or kiss one of our female fans. The music and the laughter
will set you free, and keep those frown lines from forming.

What I'm saying is simple. Barbone Street plays more JAZZ than most
bands in the world, beads and presentation skills aside.

Jazz is entertainment. Pure and simple. Pros like Louis Armstrong and
Fats Waller knew that quite well. Both were phenomenal entertainers.
Waller, it has been said on the DJML might even have been more of an
entertainer than Armstrong. And, oh yes, both were, I think, playing
pure jazz too.

Let's each entertain in our own way. Cullum has his methods, I have
mine, Kash has his, Tito has his Dave Gravett has his, Titan Hot 7 has
theirs, Blue Street has theirs, Igor has his (western swing) etc. They
all must work because these bands have an audience. And I suspect, like
BSJB, they know how to swing.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

PS. BSJB is gigging one of the top 100 JAZZ NIGHTCLUBS in the USA this
weekend. Yeah, there will be some real, live, unadulterated jazz on
display and everyone including the band will be floating on air. Wish
you all were there to see and hear it. And yes, we'll be doing our bead
thing too.