[Dixielandjazz] politically correct?

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Having played professionally for forty plus years I pride myself as a 
bandleader in being able to program any given gig with the appropriate 
songs suitable for all audiences and if there is some Johnny come 
lately wannabe politically correct twit in the audience who is too 
ignorant to understand the historical and Traditional values of a great 
song then as far as I am concerned they can just be offended.  As they 
are obviously politically incorrect in being at the event in the first 
place.

  I also have an almost all Black ( not African) American Band and I 
have never had a problem form one of them regarding not wanting to play 
a song.    However I have not asked them to play DIXIE yet, :))   That 
one might raise a stink.   To not play a beautiful tune like Black and 
Blue would be a great disservice to the songwriter, and the same with 
Darktown Strutters Ball which I believe was written for Hookers, and 
not racial at all.  If one Black person in the audience complained 
about us playing Black and Blue I would follow it up with "We Shall 
Overcome" and dedicate it to my new found offended fan, and save 
"Mammy" for the encore.  :))

As I said it is only a twit that has to try and be politically correct, 
people of all races are funny and the cultural differences make it that 
way, I have often been in the company of some so called high brow 
highly educated politically correct affirmative action PHDs at Black 
social events, and witnessed them slip right into the Ghetto 
communication mode calling each other MF and using  the N word freely 
amongst themselves.   Political correctness is mainly trotted out when 
someone wants to call extra attention to themselves and play the RACE 
CARD.  Happens all the time, and quite often these same folks are 
irritating to the others in the room who do not subscribe to such 
nonsense.    "Nigger is not a Color"   it is an attitude, and disease 
which can and does afflict all manner of folks.  :))   African is not a 
color, but "Black" is and so is White, Yellow, and Red, Pink and Brown, 
and people come in all colors, I have even seen Blue Men on television. 
:))

Now the ugliest word know is "Politician"

Musical content:  "Don't Scandalize my Name"  and, "Play that Funky 
Music White Boy"

cheers,

Tom Wiggins



-----Original Message-----
From: Cebuisle2 at aol.com
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 22:23:17 EDT
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] politically correct?

   Hello I

How does one keep political correctness out of jazz performances today? 
I
enjoyed Rick Knittel's description of a jazz funeral he played. The 
deceased had

  a special fondness for the "Darktown Strutters Ball"  which is one of 
my
favorites also. Our occasion was a "freebie" for the United Way 
banquet.  (more
on "freebies" later)   I suggested playing the "Strutters"  (heck, I 
had put
the group together a year earlier) and the clarinetist  immediately 
objected as
there was an African-American in the room. We weren't  planning to sing
it-just play it. I scratched the song from the set.

How do you active musicians handle this? Do you toss all tunes that  
have any
racial connotation "Black and Blue": comes to mind - along with a whole 
 host
of jazz standards used by Bessie Smith et.al.

Just wondering------

                                                                         

Tradjazz
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