[Dixielandjazz] "Dixieland" - definitions and usage

[Steve barbone]

"Graham Martin" <grahmartin at bigpond.com> wrote (polite snip)

> But on a more serious note, and I guess addressed to the original Fred Spencer
> dubious definition and not to Paul, I don't agree that the Dixieland name
> resulted entirely from so-called 'white' jazz. It is unfortunate that some
> people feel that competing claims are necessary to establish which racial
> background was responsible for what particular jazz developments and that a
> style would become associated with a particular grouping. On the other hand, I
> would concede that an understanding of the sometimes differing musical
> cultures may be necessary for a full understanding of how jazz developed.
> As I see it, the style of  ‘Dixieland’ jazz is often associated with white
> bands but it is most important to realize that musicians from different racial
> backgrounds play Dixieland - often together! It is pertinent to point out that
> Kid Ory’s gravestone is engraved “The father of Dixieland”, that King Oliver
> called one of his bands the Dixie Syncopators, that Edmond Hall and Vic
> Dickenson played regularly with Eddie Condon’s bands and that Jack Teagarden
> played with the Louis Armstrong and the Allstars. I guess readers of this
> newsletter would be able to think of many more examples. So it cannot be that
> Dixieland is a white man’s music, although some black musicians may have
> reservations about being called Dixielanders!

Fred Spencer was quite correct. Dixieland (in the USA at least) is defined
in many dictionaries as being associated with whites. My own includes the
phrase "associated with early white New Orleans jazz musicians."

Graham Martin is also right in that many Dixieland Bands were racially mixed
and that there was no such distinction among the musicians.

Why is the dictionary definition the way it is?

Richard Sudhalter has a pretty good explanation of it in the chapter on
"Dixieland" in his book "Lost Chords." If list mates do not have this book,
they should IMMEDIATELY put it on their Christmas list.

Basically the record promoters, A&R men, and The Press during the 1930s were
responsible for the distinction. Even the record reviewers when reviewing
bands would call a 6 piece white band playing polyphonic counterpoint,
"Dixieland". But have the same band set-up, same music, same style except
for Black musicians and the music was called small band jazz or small band
swing. Started circa 1930s and by 1940, the so-called difference between
black and white bands, playing the same music, was in common usage here in
the land of the big PX.

In fact even today, some folks still say Blacks neither play, nor like
Dixieland and that is just plain bullshit.

Cheers,
Steve