[Dixielandjazz] The Arrogant Woody Allen

[Steve Barbone]

<brian at radiojazz.co.uk> wrote:
 
> A friend an I attended one of his London concerts some years ago and he
> remembers the occasion like this.....
> 
> .....he never spoke,  never smiled, let alone cracked a joke, and played a
> non-stop clarinet line which paid scant attention to what was going on
> around him. I never wanted to go again and the best that one could say for
> him was that he was providing work for some quite good sidemen. What is not
> in question, of course, is that his heart is in the right place and if it
> pleases him - and thousands of undiscerning so-called jazz fans - then good
> luck to the man. It just proves that you can fool most of the people....
> 
> And with that I concur.
> 
> That evening was a total waste of time and his musical arrogance is an
> insult to jazz.


Well, here I am defending Woody Allen again. But let me be clear, I do not
particularly enjoy the style in which he plays. HOWEVER:

Regarding his persona . . . Like Miles Davis was, Woody Allen is a very shy
and insecure man. Full of complexes. And so like Miles Davis, he reacts to
the audience by pretending they are not there, ignoring it because it scares
him. Avoiding contact with it whenever possible. So too, like Miles Davis
got, he gets a lot of crap about it. But, in the MANY times I have seen
Woody Allen play, I have NEVER SEEN MUSICAL ARROGANCE, though I did see some
in Miles. But then, Miles could back it up.

However, also like Miles Davis, the music he plays is enormously popular. So
to categorize it as an insult to jazz is not only elitist, but baseless.
Besides, how can anyone insult jazz? We can't even agree on what jazz is?

As to the line Woody Allen plays in his band, listen again. It is the same
line that Johnny Dodds played in various bands, and the same line George
Lewis played in various bands. Is it as good? (or poor depending upon your
musical taste) No, of course not, but it is musically VERY SIMILAR. Allen is
simply playing revivalist New Orleans Uptown jazz.

Perhaps some folks don't understand what "Uptown New Orleans Jazz" is? Here
is an approximation:

1) Close to folk music, it is played by unschooled musicians with little
   regard to accepted "legitimate" performance models.

2) So, listeners who are used to hearing schooled musicians are surprised by
   the thin or sour tone sounds of Uptown. Often out of tune, ragged
   routines. No premium placed on soli. Mostly ensemble, but unvoiced.

3) Basically, what it lacks in technical agility, it delivers as a sort of
   righteous conviction, or soul.

4) More highly blues based than any other style.

That's what he and his band are playing. Point being, it is WOODY'S BAND,
musically directed by Eddie Davis. If Woody's lines do not mesh with the
others in the band, either that's the way the style is supposed to be
played, or the sidemen are not paying attention to Woody.

If folks don't like it, that is their right. However, to blast it as
insulting, or not very good, or categorically, ignores the fact that his
audience is far larger than ours and "they" obviously like it, and/or his
arrogant self because they pay a $75 cover charge to see the band in New
York City and it plays to sell out crowds all over the world.

Audience size is not an indicator of whether it is good or bad, just proof
that lots of people we don't know and can't speak for, like it. Perhaps they
are rightly listening to what the music is supposed to be, rather than
comparing it to other styles. Perhaps they understand better than we do that
this is pretty much how jazz originally sounded? Perhaps they know more
about it than we think? And it is we who are musically arrogant?

Besides. Woody is simply playing what British Trad used as a base model. The
Britons simply went legitimate by cleaning up the instrument tones, voicing
the ensembles, (never done in Uptown) smoothing the routines, adding soli
content, using schooled musicians and playing more jazz numbers and less
dance numbers. What they lost in the process was some blues content.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone