[Dixielandjazz] Spreading the word.

[Steve Barbone]

 billsharp <sharp-b at clearwire.net> wrote (polite snip)

> If we really 
> wanted to support OKOM, we on the West coast would be spreading the
> news about where guys like Bob Schulz, Clint Baker, et. al., ad
> infinitum and all the other great players with very good tone are
> performing.

Amen Bill, and that goes for folks all over the USA. We should be spreading
the word, and also actually GOING out to see these players while they are
still alive. 

Last time I saw Kenny Davern in action at a concert, there were 120 or so
people in attendance. This in a metro area of some 5 million people. That's
appalling, especially since the admission charges ranged from $10 to a
maximum of $20. 

On this list of 600 people, I wonder how many of us, especially in the USA,
saw Kenny play during the past 2 years? How many OKOM festivals, especially
those on the West Coast near his retirement pad in New Mexico, actually
booked him to play since his move there? How many Davern CDs do we have? I
could be wrong, but I have to think far to few.

Yet it seems with his passing, and all the obit praise, and praise from both
critics and fans, that this man was arguably the best of the best
clarinetists around for, at least, the past 40 years. Like former list mates
Jim Beebe and Charlie Hooks, he was also among those in the third generation
of OKOM players since the beginning. In the not too distant future all in
that generation will be gone.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone