[Dixielandjazz] Report from Sacramento Jubilee

[Steve barbone]

Artwoo at aol.com wrote:
 
>Hi Everyone:
>Yesterday was one of the best days of jazz listening of my life coming close
>to Louis Armstrong at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley in 1962.
> 
>So whose echos do I hear? Eddie Higgins, Johnny Varro, Eddie Metz, Jr, Tommy
>Saunders, Randy Reinhart, Bill Allred, John Allred, Jim Galloway, Chuck
>Hedges, Russ Phillips and all the others who played in the All Stars sessions.
>All played with taste and respect for each other.
> 
>Two things stand out: Eddie Higgins was superb with an outpouring that was
>flawless (who else would play Sleigh Bells in May?) and Bill Allred showed why
>he is a great trombonist.
> 
>Bill played with power and conviction; who could guess that he recently had
>major surgery on his lung?  What an amazing moment.
> 
>Another observation: while mouldy figs walked out of this session (you know
>who you were), there were about 20 young musicians from the youth bands who
>sat in rapt attention perhaps dreaming of the day they would become an All
>Stars. As Al Collins would say, they were "Merjuberized."
> 
> Jazz was alive and well in Sacramento last night.
 

Hear hear. Wonderful post. These musos are top guns so what's not to like?

Glad to see a focus on the music rather than the trivial stuff. Like
complaining there were pauses between tunes as they decide what to play. Or
they made a mistake in the ensemble, etc. Those who nit pick all stars seem
to forget that jazz played by such men as these, on the spot, is the real
thing. And is most often an incredible experience. That of hearing relative
strangers converse in the musical language of jazz and this ALWAYS brings
out some moments that are so fine, the musos themselves will be astonished.

As will those with EARS in the audience. Like those youth band kids. :-) VBG

Cheers,
Steve Barbone