[Dixielandjazz] RE: Dresdner Dixieland Festival

[Tamas Ittzes]

Steve Barbone wrote:
---------
Seems to me that Natural Gas JB from California was there in the 90's as
was Boehm Ragtime. any input? BTW, 10,000 at one Dixieland Festival
venue, for one performance, especially behind the Iron Curtain in those
days, boggles our minds here in the USA.
_________
Yes, we (the Bohem Ragtime JB) were in Dresden at the Festival in 1988.
This event was the only possibility for the East Germans to feel freedom
and taste "Western culture". So they had bought their tickets months in
advance, everything was sold out and there was dixieland (mostly bad
European dixieland) everywhere in the city. Great media coverage and
all. I am surprised that the festival is still big and going. Freedom on
other aspects of life has surely ruined the excitement of the Germans
towards jazz. The venue of the final show has 7500 seats but always hold
much more people at the Festival - it was 15,000 when we were there!
Somehow squeezed in. Still must be a great festival - just as looking at
their web sites but I have heard from other musicians who have been both
before and after the Wall came down that it is a little different now.
Well, we haven't been there since so I don't know.

Tamas
_________________________________________________
Tamas ITTZES
violin teacher, ragtime pianist, festival organizer
Bohem Ragtime Jazz Band
Kecskemet Jazz Foundation
Mailing address: H-6001 KECSKEMET, Pf. 652., Hungary
Phone: +36(20)82-447-82
E-mails: tamas at bohemragtime.com, bohem at fibermail.hu
Web site: http://www.bohemragtime.com
_________________________________________________