[Dixielandjazz] Charts

[Brian Harvey]

Dave wrote - Pick up jazz bands often are at odds harmonically.

No wonder if you pick the wrong people. Most accomplished jazzmen would not
have this problem.
Brian Towers hit the nail on the head when he spoke about eye contact. It's
essential. The band has to communicate with the audience's senses - all of
them - well as many as possible.
Don Ingle's angles are excellent too and remind me of the Basie and
Ellington bands where however complex the charts there was always some
member eye contacting the audience. Johnny Hodges rarely had his eyes only
on the charts and when I asked him what it was he looked at when his eyes
seemed to searching concert halls he replied - "I count exits". Well at
least he looked interested.
And then there were Ellington's "bits of business" where he would play the
most complex of intros and have the band completely phased as to what he was
leading to resulting in frantic charts searches by those who failed to
recognise what his apparent ramblings were leading to. That was great fun
for audiences even if it wasn't for new Ellingtonians.
Bill Basie used to do much the same thing but it was easier for his sidemen
as many times what he played were variations on 12 bar blues.
And then there was Eddie Condon but that's another story......
Re Brian Towers mention of Stan Kenton - that must have been in the days
when he and I thought that Kenton's music was jazz!  There's still one
writer in the UK - I am told - who shares that aberration.
Brian Harvey