[Dixielandjazz] Why guitar and not banjo?

[Bob Romans]

Merry...you know, Listmates!
>From the git-go I thought the early bands used banjos and brass basses/bass 
saxes/sarrusaphones because they could be heard, not like acoustic string 
basses and guitars. Then when it was learned that you could amplify guitars 
and string basses,  banjos and tubas went almost away...I guess I was wrong?
Warmest regards,
Bob Romans,
1617 Lakeshore Drive,
Lodi, Calif., 95242
PH 209-747-1148
www.cellblockseven2002.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 11:58 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Why guitar and not banjo?


> Dan Hardie <darnhard at ozemail.com.au> wrote
>
>> Hi Bob,
>> Louis Lince seems to have answered your question about the Bolden Band.
>> The photo Louis refers to  is on my Loudest Trumpet  web page - the
>> right way round! Most jazz Bands in New Orleans appear to have  used
>> the guitar until the 1920's, when the banjo became popular. It is
>> strange because historically the banjo was the instrument of the slaves
>> - even the street bands in New Orleans employed guitarists like Brock
>> Mumford, not much evidence of banjos.
>
> Perhaps they used guitar because ALL of the early Jazz Bands were 
> primarily
> Dance Bands? Just a guess on my part, but to me it seems that guitar would
> be better in a Dance Band than Banjo. Then too, banjo was associated with
> Minstrels and maybe the Dance/Jazz Bands didn't particularly want that 
> sort
> of an image?
>
> The Buddy Bolden photo that Dan's book shows correctly, is also shown
> correctly in the Ken Burns book on Jazz.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
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