[Dixielandjazz] The Great Jazz Revival

[Adaywayne at aol.com]

Certainly for me and many other youngsters growing up in the UK in the late 
1940s early 1950s, "Trad", as we called it, was the pop music of the day. 
Didn't Kenny Ball's "Midnight in Moscow" make it to the top of the charts in the UK 
and high up in the charts in the US? I pulled out some of my 
Lyttleton/Ball/Barber/Bilk/Welsh/Laurie etc, LPs the other day. The musicianship is very high, 
in my opinion. And many of them are playing to this day!
Arnie
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In a message dated 5/29/2004 12:58:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
robert.smith at mitransport.no writes:
Dan

For me it all began in Birmingham, England 1947. I and my fellow 15-year olds 
frequented a local youth club every Saturday night where the local vicar 
presided. He was a great believer in encouraging local talent and we sat through 
innumerable spots by magicians, tap-dancers, pianists etc. Then one 
unforgettable Saturday night a local trad. band played. I was transfixed - I'd never 
heard anything like it. Not long after I went to a concert by George Webb's 
Dixielanders. Then we started buying records by Bunk Johnson, Kid Ory, and even 
started our own band.
Reading your letter certainly brings back some happy memories, like seeing 
Kid Ory, George Lewis, Eddie Condon, and Louis Armstrong live. We also saw a lot 
of trad. bands - Humphrey Lyttelton, Mick Mulligan, The Yorkshire Jazz Band, 
Crane River Jazz Band, and Graeme Bell from 'down under'. Ken Colyer and Chris 
Barber came later.
The thing that amazes me is that there are bands over the whole world still 
playing this music.
I think the reason for the great revival not being identified is that the big 
record companies at that time did not cotton on to the potential buying 
public, believing, as far as I can remember, in the revival of ballads as their 
future market.

Cheers

Bob Smith