[Dixielandjazz] Woody Allen and the audience

[Steve Barbone]

nvickers1 at cox.net wrote: (polite snip)
> 
> Ya gotta start where folks are musically and mentally and go from  there!
 
> Same for Woody!  Even though not a polished player,  he is introducing or
> enhancing jazz to the musicially  unsophisticated.
 
> Quoting the late record producer Gus Statiras,  "  If you depended on the
> real jazz fans, you'd go  broke!"

Right on Norman. Given the declining audience for most Dixieland festivals
in the USA these days. perhaps some outside the box marketing thinker will:

Hire Woody Allen and his band. Put them in a separate venue at extra charge
to get in and reap a fortune as Woody fills the hall. Then, just maybe, some
of that audience will stick around to hear jazz bands who now have small
audiences, become fans, and put more money and pizzazz into the OKOM genre.

Why folks go to hear Woody Allen is not important. That they do show up in
large numbers to do so IS.

Same for Rebirth Brass Band headlining at Sacramento in 2007. They may not
be OKOM for some, and those diehards may bitch about their polluting the
jubilee, . . .  but they just may be a great vehicle to save the OKOM scene.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone