[Dixielandjazz] Straw Hats and The Saints = Dixieland?

[Steve Barbone]

Somebody wrote the following to the Sacramento Bee.

"What they call "traditional jazz" most everyone else calls "Dixieland" Listening to group after group of guys with straw hats and banjos playing 'When the Saints Go Marching In' grows tiresome."

And we got mad because that's not the way the Sacramento Jubilee is. 

Rightly so, but did we miss the larger implication of that letter? Did we miss the forest because we were looking at the trees? (Have a field day wordsmiths, rather than hearing the message)

The broad implications are much more chilling.

1. "That 'Trad Jazz' does not mean Dixieland." And you know what? To most young people trad jazz many not mean Dixieland. Many, if not most of the young fans I talk with seem to think that "trad jazz" means bop or mainstream and most associate it with Dizzy, Bird, Getz or Basie.

2. That a Festival like Sacramento (and others that have Dixieland) feature
straw hats and banjo players reprising "The Saints." Carry that a little further and it means OLD FARTS reliving their youth with hokey music. Translation? Why would I as a 30 year old yuppie, want to go there with all those groaty, worn out old folks?

Whether it is true or not is immaterial. No point getting mad at the writer for his/her ignorance. The point is that this perception does exist out there among the young in the USA.

So let's not waste energy getting mad. Let's do something about it. Let's CHANGE THE PERCEPTION. This is THE new audience for Dixieland whether we like it or not. They can be won over relatively easily. A few or us, bands/societies/festivals, are already doing it. 

Perhaps it's time "Mr. Froggie Went A Courtin"?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

PS. Probably my last message for several days because we're on the road to Rehoboth Beach for two nights at Sydney's Jazz Club. (WHAT!! Dixieland in a real jazz club? Yeah, and it is sold out both nights) The crowd is YOUNG and the band is OLD, but it's perception that counts and they absolutely adore Dixieland when presented by jazz musicians without baggage.