[Dixielandjazz] Listening was drummers

[Stephen Barbone]

John  Petters and I have been having a discussion about to whom to
listen. Must be boring to many by now so I am trying not to repeat too
much.

Personally, I listened less in my lifetime to Dixieland Clarinetists
than I did to modern jazz clarinetists. Perhaps that could be lead to
playing "bastardized harmonies" as he describes what might occur. (less
Dodds, more DeFranco)

I believe that it leads to further exploration of polyphonic
counterpoint, rather than the freezing of a player's style in some year,
or decade in the past because "that's how it should sound." And I don't
know what "bastardized harmonies" are, or could possibly be.

I kind of revel in the fact that my band plays Dixieland in our own way,
not really in a 50 or 100 year old style. We do not seek to reprise the
musical problems of "Dixieland" because they were solved by better
players in the past. For better or for worse we play "Barbone Street
Style". The best description of it? Perhaps this snip from a local
newspaper about our 2nd CD. It is by a YOUNG jazz reviewer.

"Hackensack was rolling along into the clarinet solo when suddenly the
image in my mind shifted from that of Buddy Defranco to Alphonse Picou
with a completely unexpected quotation from "High Society", during the
bridge. Wow! Then later in Glenn Dodson's trombone chorus, there
occurred another evocation of Picou's licks. Obvious this band listens
to each other."  (snip to below)

"On Teach Me Tonight, trumpeter Paul Grant brought back memories of the
exhilarating trumpet styling of Roy Eldridge. Delightful." (snip to
below)

"This band, while firmly grounded in the traditions of New Orleans Jazz,
fairly bristles with unusual interpolations and stirring unconventional
ideas. Their music is fresh and exciting. These guys can play!"

We play in a style that does not please all of the "trad heads". That is
OK with us because our target audience are the 21 to 45 year olds. That
audience  don't know a damn thing about New Orleans Jazz, or Dixieland.
They have no "preconceived" notions of what is "correct" or what it
"should" sound like. And they will never be taught about it, or even
appreciate it.

As an upwardly mobile group, they do, however, know what they like, and
they like the music we play. Probably because we make our Dixieland
relevant, while firmly believing that there is no "correct" way to play
it. Tell Joe Ascionne or Tony DiNicola that they are not Dixieland
drummers because they are "modern". Krupa couldn't play more modern
styles? Hmmm. That's completely opposite how I remember him,  listening
to him live with Charlie Ventura's quartet and quintet 50 odd years ago
in New York City. He swung the hell out of that group, along with Ace
Tesone, Barbone Street's current double bassist.

"Unusual interpolations and stirring unconventional ideas"? That's jazz.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone