[Dixielandjazz] "Orchestra" as opposed to "band"

[David Richoux]

Sometimes the "Orchestra" term is chosen if there is a string section 
in the group: Paul Whiteman Orchestra, for example. Other times I think 
it was because the leader thought it was a more "classy" term than 
"Band" - Duke Ellington had his Jungle Band but then there were also 
the Cotton Club Orchestra and Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Up-Marketing!

Dave Richoux

On Sep 8, 2004, at 2:10 PM, Robert Smith wrote:

> I don't know about Turk Murphy, but there are many small groups that 
> call themselves "orchestra".
> Here's one picked at random:
> Garnet Clark and his Orchestra that consists of him and four other 
> musicians (Bill Coleman, George Johnson, Django Reinhardt, and June 
> Cole).
> The word "orchestra" usually conjures up a large symphony orchestra 
> with maybe 80 musicians. The word "band" usually conjures a much 
> smaller group. In fact if the band has 18 musicians it is usually 
> called a big band. Even so a symphonic wind band may have up to 70 
> musicians.
> It's all very confusing.
>
> Cheers
>
> Bob Smith