[Dixielandjazz] Dangerous Instrument

[Richard Broadie]

There is a possibility that the article reproduced below is a myth.  At 
least a remote possibility!  :-)  Dick B.


Dangerous Instrument


MAN SLIDES HIS TROMBONE
AND
KILLS MUSICIAN IN FRONT OF HIM!
By Randy Jeffries/Weekly World
News
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==
Bocholt, Germany -- A band musician died of a brain injury when the
trombonist behind him jerked the slide of his trombone forward and
struck
the trumpeter in the back of the head.
Police say the tragedy occurred as the Gratzfeld College band was
rehearsing the spirited American jazz classic, "When the Saints Go
Marching In."
According to other band members, trombonist Peter Niemeyer, 19, "got
carried away" with the music. He started gyrating and thrashing around
as he played. At one point, he jerked forward and the rounded metal
slide
on his instrument hit trumpet player Dolph Mohr, 20, dropping him
instantly
to the floor.
"Niemeyer was pumping the slide very hard," said medical examiner Dr.
Max
Krause. "But it wasn't just the force of the blow that killed Mohr. "The
slide
struck him in the worst possible place -- the vulnerable spot just
behind and
below the left ear. "Bone fragments pierced his brain, killing him
instantly."
The incident has provoked a storm of controversy over whether or not
American jazz should be played in German colleges.
"I believe the music is to blame," said Gratzfeld band director Heinrich
Sommer. "I was pressured to play that selection by school
administrators.
But I've always said jazz is dangerous music, Our musicians can't
control
themselves when they play it. They move and rock back and forth,
creating
chaos. If I had my way, American Dixieland would be outlawed in Germany.
I've been directing bands for 30 years and I've never heard of anyone
dying
while playing a German march."