[Dixielandjazz] Catch-up - a smorgasbord

[Anton Crouch]

Hello all

I've been otherwise engaged for the last week or so and haven't had time to
respond to some of the posts. Please forgive the "scatter gun" approach to
the following.

New Orleans Revival: Charlie Suhor's post is a ripper. Why, indeed, do the
40s revivalists not sound like the Olivers and Mortons of the 20s? There's
a book in this subject. How about it Charlie?

Ken Colyer: I'm surprised that none of the old chums have mentioned the
link between Ken Colyer and Chris Barber. For many, Ken Colyer is more
famous for what he didn't do than for what he did do. My, limited,
knowledge is that Chris Barber organised a band in the UK for Colyer to
lead on his (Colyer's) return from the USA. It seems that Colyer didn't
like what he heard and just walked away, leaving Barber to find a new
trumpet player (Pat Halcox) and to go on to fame and fortune.

Vibrato: Three cheers for Steve B and his link between Bechet and Caruso.
The very essence of New Orleans reed playing is operatic singing. And how
about Johnny Dodds' vibrato with clarinet? Very wide indeed and it works
because of that sine qua non of jazz playing - attack.

Records and the past: Do recordings capture greatness? Time takes care of
this question. How many people on this list can remember hearing Johnny
Dodds, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton in the 1920s? We should
treasure what we do have, rather than wonder if something greater lay
elsewhere. As to the present, ah - that's a different universe   :-)

All the best
Anton

PS: Can those DJMLers who reply to a post in a digest please, please,
PLEASE delete all the superfluous material? It's gotten out of hand in the
last few days. Please?