[Dixielandjazz] Chrismas Presents

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/6/04 11:36:40 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
WILLIAMHORTON at peoplepc.com writes:

> 
> I received two jazzy Christmas presents.  One was a foot-high Santa with
> black shades and a gold tenor sax, playing a jazzy "Santa Claus Is Coming To
> Town" while he jukes around realistically.  Great!!
> 
> The second was about a 5-pound copy of "Jazz", the companion book of the Ken
> Burns PBS television series of that name.
> 
> 

Hey I got Frosty the Snowman in shades playing the same tune on a golden Sax, 
and a red bird sitting on his hat nodding to the music like a real cool cat.

I also got the Jazz Book, I am also not a Ken Burns Fan, but I applaud whole 
heartedly his having the guts to bring Black American Jazz men to the long 
over due attention many of them have been missing for their enormous 
contributions to music not to mention the great possibility that they actually invented or 
were the first to Play it, documented or otherwise, since most American white 
folks didn't write about Black musicians in those days.

.  I watched the Jazz series, but was turned off by its undue emphasis on 
race, 

So did I but was turned on greatly for just the opposite reason.

What a list!!


But then again we have beat this discussion to death on this list more than 
once and it is obvious that we change no ones opinions even when some of us put 
it in writing or on television to finally give it some credability.

Ken Burns is not Black, and neither am I and I was never influenced by Wynton 
Marsallis and I don't personally think Ken Burns was either, there is simply 
too much available evidence available on Black Musicians contributions to 
ignore it any longer whether some of us like it or not.   Ken Burns just dug up 
some left out History and gave us a heavy dose of it in his book and film, There 
is a lot more where that came from, too bad he didn't have twice the budget 
and twice the air time to present it, there were many other Black players who 
were not even mentioned.

Pages 250 & 251 and their photos tell it like it was.   One photo is of Cab 
Callowaychu Berry, and Tyree Glenn.    Two of Tyree Glenn's sons often play in 
my group,  Saint Gabriel's Celestial Brass Band on tour.   ( TyreeJr., Roger) 
Both excellent players and entertainers.

It has never been about the color of the skin, but the way in which you play 
the music, those who play it correctly sound more Black than white because 
they swing better and put more feeling into the music.  At least in my opinion.

I like Bill Horton, but we always look at this topic with different colored 
glasses, so we shall agree to disagree and just get over it.

Now if we put the 5lb book of Jazz by burns with the volumes of books about 
mostly white players we could start an entire encyclopedia of Jazz.   

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins