[Dixielandjazz] There are two kinds of musicians...

[Edgerton, Paul A]

...Those who read and those who don't.
Those who can't read don't get reading gigs. Some of them will explain that
reading isn't important. They'll sometimes tell you that arranged jazz isn't
"real" jazz. (Whatever *that* might be.)

...Those who improvise, and those who don't.
Those who can't improvise had better be able to read if they want a gig.
It's a good thing for them that big bands need a lot of expert readers.

...Those who double and those who don't.
Doublers can provide more tonal variety. Listeners like variety, you know.
For the brass players, I'm talking about mutes here. A muted trumpet differs
from an open trumpet in they same way as a clarinet differs from a soprano
sax. Yes, it takes more work to be good on more than one instrument -- or
even different ways of playing a single instrument. Other things being
equal, would you rather hear listen to four hours of one sound, or hear
something new every now and then?

...Those who swing and those who don't.
Hmmm, not all music swings. (Quite a few ballads) Some kinds of music have a
different sort of swing than the usual 4/4 stuff. But there's no such thing
as too much swing.

...Those who care about the audience and those who don't.
There are many ways to provide for the audience; all accomplished musicians
take care of this in some manner. We have words for the those who do not:
words like "boring," and "unemployed."

All of the musicians I have known have mastered more than one of these
things. The very best have nailed them all.

-- Paul Edgerton