[Dixielandjazz] New Orleans

[Schnabbels at aol.com]

Dear Listmates,

I have never been to New Orleans. I am somewhat embarrassed about that. It's 
like a muslim who never made the "haj" to Mecca. So, why, at the ripe old age 
of 64 did I never make to Norlins? Answer: the fear to be disappointed.

John Farrel's recent post explains the problem quite well. Let me add a story 
dating back to the early seventies.

I was living and working in Stuttgart, Germany. I became a member of the 
":Dixieland Keller (Cellar). A place where bands played for free (other than food 
and beer) and thusly raised funds to afford bands like The World's Greatest 
Jazz Band . I was there, and it was a wonderful evening.

One of the bands that performed regularly, was the Royal Garden Ramblers. I 
sat in with them a few times. The band made a trip to the US. financed. I 
believe by Stuttgart-based Mercedes-Benz. They played in Chicago, St.Louis and 
ended their tour in New Orleans. There was no opportunityto play in N.O. so they 
decided to just play on the street. The N.O. media picked up on this, decrying 
the fact that it took a German band to revive the N.O. tradition. The result: 
the band received the keys to the city

So, I still want to visit New Orleans. Are there any listmates out there with 
some words of encouragement?

Rob van der Plas
Scottsdale, AZ