[Dixielandjazz] Re: "OKOM" on Public Radio

[Don Mopsick]

Charles Coleman writes:

<<And speaking of PBS, where else can you find OKOM on radio?     Let's
support the NPR stations that carry what we like!
    Charlie (Support Live Jazz) Coleman>>

Charlie, I couldn't agree with you more on this one. It seems to me from
reading your post (and also those who responded to it) that you are not yet
aware of  "Riverwalk, Live From the Landing," a jazz show on the OTHER
public radio network, Public Radio International (PRI). Most public radio
stations carry programming from both NPR and PRI. (For more on PRI, go to
www.pri.org) It looks like you're in the Midwest, so to hear the show on the
air, go to www.riverwalk.org and click on Station List in the left-hand
navigation bar for a list of stations carrying the show.

(By the way, the term "PBS," the Public Broadcasting System, can refer to
both TV and radio, but has come to mean mainly Public TV).

To echo Charlie's thought, if your station plays Riverwalk (or any other
kind of good jazz), please go the extra mile and send email or snail mail to
the Program Director expressing your thanks. And, don't forget to support
the station with your membership $$$$.

The station carriage for Riverwalk, now in its 13th year on the air, is down
from previous years, but is still quite substantial. Slightly less than 1
million loyal listeners still tune in each week. And, if you don't find a
station that plays the show, in a few weeks you will be able to stream
Riverwalk on demand from anywhere on the planet. I will announce this when
the service goes online, in our monthly e-newsletter Jazz Me News. There
will be a link on our home page directly to the stream.

(To subscribe to Jazz Me News, for which I am the Editor, send a blank
message to jazzmenews at landing.com?subject=subscribe . To see this month's
issue, go to http://www.riverwalk.org/new.htm)

I personally prefer not to use "OKOM" to define our music, and this list is
a good example of why not. From lurking and contributing to DJML from its
beginning, I've come to understand that there is not as much unanimity of
style preference as many here evidently think. I've described Riverwalk as a
"jazz" show, and I believe that's the most appropriate word to describe the
music we present each week. It's true that our jazz is mainly from the
pre-WWII era, and indeed our preferred way of differentiating ourselves from
boppers is to say "hot prewar jazz."

On Riverwalk, we regularly and faithfully feature the music of the Original
Dixieland Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver, Jelly Roll
Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Sidney Bechet, and others not so
quite orthodox trad such as Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, Bill Coleman,
Django Reinhardt, Jack Teagarden, Duke Ellington (20s), Artie Shaw, Benny
Goodman, Bob Cats, etc. We've even ventured out recently into the post-war
era with shows about Nat Cole and Al Cohn/Zoot Sims.

My point is: there are many, many on DJML who do not like at least ONE of
the above, or who take issue with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band's interpretation
of same. That's not a problem, but using "Our Kind of Music" to describe
Riverwalk's musical output is.

Again, in my humble opinion (IMHO), there is no better term to use than
simply "jazz." These days, there are so many kinds of non-swinging (and
non-stomping) music out there that are very popular that call themselves
"jazz," and it's up to the listener to be discriminating. If there's any
music in the world that has the right to be known simply as "jazz," it's Our
Kind, and that's OK in my book.

mopo