[Dixielandjazz] The OKOM "product"

Wed Aug 16 17:07:55 PDT 2006

Hi Paul,

I've read your reaction three times and  will try to respond.
It's difficult after consuming two bottles of excellent  French
"Elzasser" (Gewurztraminer) wine, but I will give it a try.
When you are recording you have the ultimate jazz fan
in mind. You choose to play only the notes that matter.
When you are performing to a crowd that does'nt know
the difference between Bach and Morton you play what
they can recognise: high notes, thrills, etc.
When you have "conquered" that audience you can feed
them jazz. It's politics. After what a wonderful world in the
Armstrong way, they will also like Sleepy time down south.
Most of the audiences are clueless, but if you "educate" them
they open up to jazz. That's my expierience.
So: give the audience what it wants and slip in the jazz
you want them to love. That's what I meant by performing.

Cees van den Heuvel
http://www.revivaljassband.nl

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edgerton, Paul A" <paul.edgerton at eds.com>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:34 AM
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] The OKOM "product"

Cees says:
> Without an audience there is very little point in performing. 

So then, your definition of performing is "playing for an audience."

> Playing jazz and performing jazz are two different things.

Different, but closely related.  For one thing, you cannot "perform"
jazz without "playing" jazz.  Alright, under what circumstances would
you play jazz without performing it?  When you're practicing -- which is
a necessary precondition to performing.

Is the presence of an audience the distinction between playing and
performing?  Suppose none of the enlightened listeners are present in
your audience.  Are you still performing, or merely playing?  If you are
alone in recording studio, no audience is physically present.  Is this a
performance?  Would releasing the recording make a difference?  What if
nobody bought the recording?

What if somebody recorded your private practicing session, sold the CD
and an enlightened and appreciative listener buys it -- are you
performing now?

Have you got performance anxiety yet?

-- Paul Edgerton

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Cees van
den Heuvel
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 3:29 PM
To: Martin Nichols; dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] The OKOM "product"

They can go together in the perfect circumstances and with the perfect
audience. Moments to cherish!
But in the real world performing is the thing. The real jazz part is
only picked up by a few in the audience. I play for them, and perform
for the rest.
Being a musicians musician is too romantic, unless you are a millionaire
and have your own record company and critics on your pay roll.

Cees van den Heuvel
http://www.revivaljassband.nl

----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Nichols" <marnichols at yahoo.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 11:44 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The OKOM "product"

> Steve B. wrote: I find that when I play for myself and execute
difficult 
> passages and
> off
> beat chord changes, standing stock still like a classical player
nobody
> but
> other musicians "get" it. So, to make love to the audience, I make
> clarinet
> player faces, squeeze out some body language, play high notes and do
> all
> that other vaudeville stuff. And the audience relates, whether they
are
> "jazz sophisticated" or "jazz challenged".
>
>  I think it is interesting that, to my knowledge, Jack Teagarden 
> apparently
>  never did any of the "vaudeville stuff" and was a great and
successful 
> performer, as were so many others like him. One might object that Jack
>  would take his trombone apart once and a while and play without a
bell,
>  without a slide, etc. however I don't consider that as "tricks" as
much 
> as
>  demonstrations of his virtuosity as an artist. Others may disagree
I'm 
> sure.
>
>  To each his own! I watched Georg Brunis play "flat on his back, only 
> using his feet and mouth" to play great trombone in Chicago at the
"1111 
> Club" on Bryn Mawr Ave. in the '50s. I just don't think Teagarden
would do 
> that, maybe I'm wrong. I saw Jack in the 60's in a club in Boston
where
>  the supporting acts were a MC that sang, and a girl stripper. I
recall 
> mentioning to the guy next to me at the bar "Teagarden shouldn't have
to 
> play in a joint like this." I was stationed at Ft. Deven's at the time
and 
> somehow learned that Jack was appearing in Boston. I spoke to him at a

> table for a few minutes. I recall he was quite a "reserved " person to

> speak to [mostly listened.] Anyway!
>
>
>
>
>
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