[Dixielandjazz] the "Dixieland" strand

[Richard Broadie]

Bob,

If I play acoustic, what am I expected to do with this A.C. "thingy" 
extending from my navel?

 :-)

Dick
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert S. Ringwald" <robert at ringwald.com>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] the "Dixieland" strand


>I hate  to open the Pandora's box again with a comment about playing 
>acoustic.  However, I cannot pass up a comment on John's message, below.
>
> It is so nice to hear a band playing acoustic for a change, rather than 
> over a P.A.  If god had intended us to use P.A.s, he would have put an 
> A.C. plug in our belly buttons.
>
> Jazz sounds so good when unamplified.  I don't know why more bands don't 
> play that way.
>
> What is wrong with, as john says, "Playing soft during a guitar or piano 
> solo" or even when accompanying a singer?
>
> As a Listmate once said on DJML many years ago,
> "Dynamics?  Hell, I'm playing as loud as I can now..."
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> Placerville, CA USA
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "john petters" <johnpetters at tiscali.co.uk>
> To: "'Charles Suhor'" <csuhor at zebra.net>; "'DJML'" 
> <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 9:23 AM
> Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] the "Dixieland" strand
>
>
> Charles said
>>Another common charge is that Dixieland jazz--even as an evolved genre,
> whether played by black, white, or integrated bands--is facile and
> formulaic. Ralph Collins' 1996 book illustrates this bias with a
> vengeance. His broad brush paints the entire Dixieland jazz genre as
> crap.  Ensemble choruses are "collective improvisation, which is a
> euphemistic way of saying every man for himself."  Inbetween such
> choruses
> is " . . . an assembly of individual soloists held together by loud
> mechanical-sounding drum and cymbal beats. . . Creativity is not
> required
> in such a methodical musical setting, indeed it might prove deleterious
> . . . each man plays fortissimo, as loud as possible.  Artistry is out
> of
> place here and originality a definite handicap."  Of course, Collins'
> description is true of some groups but it fails scandalously to
> recognize
>>excellent Dixieland bands and musicians of the past and present.
>
> Ralph Collins has obviously not listened to the music.
> For example, on Thursday I took my six piece band to Laines Barn, a
> wonderful old building in Oxfordshire to play a Kid Ory tribute concert.
>
> Guitarist, Dave Moorwood, who booked us for the session was invited to 
> play
> with us. He had both banjo and guitar, but the banjo remained in its case.
>
> We had Martin Litton on an upright piano. Acoustic double bass, (Keith
> Donald) Cuff Billett, trumpet, Mike Pointon, trombone and young James 
> Evans
> on clarinet.
>
> We had one microphone which was switched off while the band was playing. 
> The
> guitar took several solos, which meant that I had to play very quiet press
> rolls in order for him to be heard. Same with the piano.
>
> We played a lot of ensemble choruses, some of which were very quiet 
> indeed.
> This enabled us to really go for it in the ride out chorus.
>
> I will leave it for others to judge the artistry or originality, but there
> was certainly a large dynamic range. It can be done and is very effective.
>
> When I announced that we were going to play acoustically, many people
> cheered and several expressed the view that it was good to hear the real
> sound of the instruments rather than the altered sound via a pa system.
>
> John Petters
> Amateur Radio Station G3YPZ
> www.traditional-jazz.com
>
>
>
>
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