[Dixielandjazz] Guy Lombardo, a hip 1930s band. - was The Chicken Song

[Steve barbone]

on 6/18/05 1:22 PM, Charles Suhor at csuhor at zebra.net wrote:

> C'mon, the intersections between the qualities of jazz and the music of
> Guy Lombardo are pretty sparse, at best. By contrast, Prima made much
> use  of jazz, no?

Hi Charlie:

Well, I am just parroting Louis' own words. In a blind listening to records
test (1949) published by Metronome,Give with Leonard Feather, he listened to
Lombardo's "Always". Here is what Louis said:

"Give this son of a gun eight stars! Lombardo! These people are keeping
music alive - helping to fight them damn be-boppers. Upou know, you got to
have somebody to keep that music sounding good. Music doesn't mean a thing
unless it sounds good. You know, this is the band that inspired me to make
"Among My Souvenirs" They inspired me to make "Sweethearts on Parade."
They're my inspirators."

END SNIP: 

Remember, I didn't say Lombardo  was a jazz man like Prima, just that he was
hip. Or should I have said hep, back when it was hip to be hep?

Make no mistake, Guy Lombardo was a "man's" man. Braver than most with his
boat racing (at which he was quite good) and smart enough to make the scads
of money it takes to race a boat of that caliber, via music.

Listen to Louis Armstrong and those BIG BANDS he fronted in the 1930s. You
will hear those Lombardo style Saxophones in them.

And according to James Lincoln Collier (still playing trombone once a week
at the Donnell Library Branch in NYC with my pal Dick Sherman), in his book
about OKOM and Louis on page 219; Armstrong's admiration for Lombardo was
shared by other African American musicians during the 1920s; furthermore,
that admiration was mutual to the degree that Lombaardo invited Louis and
Zutty Singleton to perform with him in 1928.

If Louis loved Lombardo, why the hell shouldn't Fred Spencer and I? (as well
as everyone else who isn't afraid to admit it?)

Now, what more connection to jazz would one want? :-) VBG.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone