[Dixielandjazz] Re: New Orleans 60+ years ago

[Charlie Hooks]

On Friday, June 10, 2005, at 09:07 AM, Patrick Cooke wrote:

> I now play the electric bass which was designed for picking.
> Now most purists go into cardiac arrest when they just see an 
> electric bass,
> before they even hear a note.  They saw one once before and they 
> didn't like
> it, and they assume they all sound the same.  Actually the kind of 
> strings
> one uses has more of an effect on the sound than whether it has an 
> acoustic
> chamber or not.  My bass does not sound anything like the ones the rock
> players use, but no matter....the 'elite' purists enjoy thinking 
> they know
> something the rest of the world doesn't.  They don't know jack.  Their
> 'preferences' are really prejudices.  Their attitudes are beginning to
> tarnish my love for the music.

Pat, I gotta agree wholeheartedly!  Here in Chicago there lived for 
many years a black bass player named Jimmy Johnson who played the 
original model Fender he bought new back in the dark ages WITH THE 
ORIGINAL STRINGS, or so he claimed.  Said he had tried to replace 
them many times, never could get the proper sound--and his sound was 
the absolute greatest! Jim Beebe and I both loved him, and his 
singing/stage presence was a model  for all of us.  Jimmy was with 
the Traniers for many years, had played with Miles in East St. Louis 
(their home town), hell, he had worked with everybody who was 
anybody!,  was offered a job with Louis Armstrong back just before 
the band took off, said "aw, no, this band ain't goin noplace"--and 
Arvell Shaw came on instead. I love Arvell.  but Jimmy could play 
rings around him: WITH THE OLD FENDER BASS AND ANCIENT STRINGS.

I normally hate guitar-bass players: but it all depends on the player!

Charlie Hooks
in Chicago
>
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