[Dixielandjazz] Youthful musicians...our "future"?

[Bob Romans]

Good post, Paul!
Those old guys learned their craft from listening to older guys, and hanging
out jamming 'til the wee hours...cutting contests, no sleep, living for the
music, not playing just when there was nothing else to do! Watch the youth
bands that play in the jazz clubs today...and my bands were no
different...after their set/sets, they split! Their parents "have to go
shopping", (They are "Baby Boomers who cut their musical tastes on the
Beetles and before), or have to hurry home to the TV...any number of
reasons/excuses not to stay around! While waiting for their set to start,
where are the young jazz players? Out hanging out in front of the club, not
sitting right in front of the band that they follow trying to pick up some
new licks!
One exception...my first band, The Riverboat Rascals...at the Great
Connecticut Jazz Festival in 1990, couldn't be PULLED away from "Uncle
Yoke's Black Dawg Jazz Band"! Steve Yokum then followed THEM around, and at
their last set, he had them autograph his program! What a guy!
Try to get most of the front line band members of a youth band to play Happy
Birthday in two or three keys! They HAVEN'T learned their instrument! For
all the good it did, I used to tell my band members they should be able to
play any tune they can whistle...or sing. It is HARD to get the kids out to
the jazz clubs to sit in, except for maybe a drummer...
This is why I won't start anymore youth bands...
1. The Riverboat Rascals...2 still play
2. The Hot "N Tots...............2 still play
3. The Alley Cats................. 1 still plays...
4. The Barkin' Dawg............still going strong
5. The Alligator Stomperz...unknown, have broken up, still playing in high
school bands.
Off my soapbox, and away into the fog!
Bob Romans
Cell Block Seven
Jazz Band
1617 Lakeshore Dr.,
Lodi, California,
95242
Phone...209-368-3255
Cell...209-747-1148
Fax...209-368-3255
WebPages
cellblockseven2002.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edgerton, Paul A" <paul.edgerton at eds.com>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 9:36 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] NOT about Eminem, Washboards or Band Setups...


> Kymmi, bless her young heart, says that kids are more likely to be drawn
in
> when they see a group of performers with whom they can identify. That may
be
> true, but as somebody who was a young performer (okay, 20-odd  years ago!)
I
> can flatly state that there are not many twenty year olds who are capable
of
> holding up their end in a first-rate dixieland band -- let alone a whole
> ensemble of them.
>
> Overall the kids may be fine players technically, but they just aren't up
to
> par stylistically. Of course, there are a few exceptions, but that brings
me
> to my point: There's almost no place a young musician can hone his
craft --
> particularly under the watchful eye of an experienced professional. Most
of
> us learned how to play jazz by playing with established folks who already
> knew what they were doing.
>
> When I was a pup, I knew the difference between myself and those fat old
> farts who really played the music. It was at once flattering, humbling and
> highly instructive playing with them. Quite a few of the guys I learned
from
> are gone now, and I begin asking myself if we're providing the same sort
of
> opportunities for the would-be musicians of today.
>
> Well, how about it? What are we doing now, and what else can we do to
fledge
> these youngsters and snare their contemporaries?
>
> Paul Edgerton
> Who recalls the Disney recruiting profile: 25 years old, with 30 years of
> experience.
>
>
>
>
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