Subject: [Dixielandjazz]Jazz miseducation

[john petters]

Dan said
> Kurt: I've got a great idea for jazz educators and the like. Why not talk
> about OKOM WITHOUT making it always sound like a stepping stone to real
jazz?

Absolute common sense. The problem is most jazz educators do not understand
OKOM. I was told of a course that devoted a whole morning to pre be bop
jazz. The rest of the time was coaching wannabe Coltranes. The result is the
stream of young players that populated the Buddy Rich, Louis Belson and
Lionel Hampton bands in the 80s. I saw all three. Most interesting was
Hamps. This renta Coltrane tenor player played several choruses of
technically brilliant notes - then Arnett Cobb struggled to his feet and
blew one note and immediately there was a real jazz voice. Learning OKOM can
be a stepping stone to 'real' jazz if that is what the individual wants, but
better to be the foundation to playing OKOM properly.  Play few notes,
measured,  that mean something. My old friend Ken Sims once said that
'Mainstream' was a retreat for cowards. He meant those that could not get to
grips with real ensemble jazz and its disciplines. Listening to a lot of
British mainstream that is certainly true.

>When it  (the microphone) was invented in 1924 it made it possible for
> Bing Crosby to compete with Al Jolson (who called Bing a sissy because he
> used one). Then, and this is what kills me, he adds: with the microphone
we could
> finally get rid of the banjo and tuba.

What abolute drivel. This guy knows nothing about the origins of jazz.
John Petters
Amateur Radio Station G3YPZ
www.traditional-jazz.com