[Dixielandjazz] The World's Greatest Jazz Band

[Steven Holzer]

Most people remember the early editions of the WGJB with the big name 
line-ups. It is often forgotten that the band travelled in its later 
years with a less stellar line-up that was nonetheless still one of the 
best bands going. I recall a show they did for the Indianapolis Jazz 
Club after guys like Ralph Sutton, Vic Dickenson, Bud Freeman had alreay 
gone their separate ways.  The band stepped up to play The Saints (Yawn, 
right. Not hardly.) The second stringers blew life into it. The star of 
the show was Keith Ingham, the English transplant pianist 

Whether they were ever the World's Greatest is a matter of personal 
opinion. We'll never get consensus, no point in trying. I should note 
that the "grandiose" beginning of the title was always modified by the 
phrase "of Bob Haggart and Yank Lawson", which made the whole thing 
somewhat less pretentious. At any given time, the band really was the 
best band belonging to those two persons. It was an effective PR ploy 
and I think they can be forgiven if it was slightly over the top.

Steve Holzer

Stephen Barbone wrote:

>List mates
>
>Perhaps the name was a bit of hyperbole, but then the WGJB, far and away
>completely eclipses ANY of the current bands today playing OKOM. Those
>who heard them "live" in various combinations no doubt remember just how
>exciting they were.
>
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