[Dixielandjazz] Requests

[Mike Durham]

Hi everybody. My favourite request story (possibly apocryphal) concerns the 
late British big band leader, Joe Loss. Playing a dance in Ireland, he was 
asked by a patron if he played requests, but told the guy 'no'. The patron 
pleaded with him, saying it was his 50th wedding anniversary, his wife was 
very ill, might not make it to the next, and having a request played would 
mean a lot to both of them. Relenting, Joe said OK, and asked what tune they 
wanted to hear. "Oh, anything you like" said the man.

Another (true) story related by the late Ronnie Scott, who was playing in 
the band at the time, concerns the famous playboy bandleader Bert Ambrose. 
An aristocratic young man in a nightclub sent up a request to the bandstand, 
for some idiotic tune, wrapped in a ten-pound note. Bert opened the note, 
scrutinisd the request, shook his head regretfully and returned it - wrapped 
in a twenty-pound note.

Incidentally, at weddings and the like, we are frequently asked by younger 
guests to play pop and rock numbers ("Can you do something by Queen or 
Status Quo?"). Quite how they can do this when they are looking at a rhythm 
section containing tuba and banjo is hard to understand. I suppose this 
reflects a general ignorance amongst 20-somethings of live music: they are 
so used to disco's nowadays, they don't even understand that live musicians 
need a break evey now and then ("Why are you stopping? You've only been 
playing for ninety minutes!"). Ah well........

My favourite remark on the subject was a local bandleader here in north-east 
England who when asked for something similar would reply with a smile "I'm 
really sorry, we don't know that one, but here's another tune with most of 
the same notes" - very diplomatic.

And lastly, a put-down by another leader (a lover of Jelly, Louis , Duke, 
Clarence Williams, etc) who when asked to play some rather basic "real New 
Orleans" number like Over In The Gloryland would say "I'm sorry, but we 
don't know the chord". One indignant fan, on hearing this, turned away 
saying "Oh well, if you're going to get all technical....."

Mike Durham

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