[Dixielandjazz] Guitars and 4/4 beat in New Orleans Jazz

[Steve Barbone]

I think most New Orleans Jazz Bands featured Guitar and String Bass right up
until they started recording the music. The early photos seem to confirm
that. But, once they started to record, they found that the early devices
would not pick up Guitar and Double bass adequately. So they switched to
banjo/tuba.

I'm not sure when 4/4 became the New Orleans rhythm, but Louis Armstrong in
talking about his first gig with King Oliver (in "Satchmo, My Life in New
Orleans") describes how much he enjoyed Lil Hardin's piano playing "with
that 4 beats to the bar" and notes that she got her training from Oliver and
"all the pioneers from New Orleans". And Armstrong, I believe, always
described the beat of "New Orleans" jazz as 4 beat. As does Norrie Cox in
various publications.

Then again, some say that early New Orleans Jazz used some 2 beat for the
first chorus's and then switched to 4 beats for the ride out. And some say
Dixieland was 2 beat, but N.O. Jazz Rhythm was 4 beat.

Perhaps it depends upon which bands we listen to (White vs. Black) for early
examples? Perhaps the white bands played mostly 2/4 and the black bands
mostly 4/4?

One thing for sure, when Lu Watters and Yerba Buena started the West Coast
Revival, they mimicked the Oliver line up, but switched the rhythm section
to banjo/tuba and went back to two beat.

Plus the "Society" bands of the various Lanin brothers or Meyer Davis et
al., virtually all played a 2 beat "Dixieland". Because the debutantes had
all learned to dance to a sort of Mickey Mouse two beat during their
formative years and "Society" Dixieland was all the rage to them.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone