[Dixielandjazz] Why guitar and not banjo?

[Steve Barbone]

Yes you were wrong. But then me too. That picture of Bolden is reversed in
the Burns book. :-) VBG.

I just checked it to see some more pictures of well known early jazz/dance
bands that used guitar/double bass. Those bands included.

1) Buddy Bolden (circa 1905)

2) Woodland Band (Kid Ory's band circa 1905)

3) The Eagle Band (Big Eye Nelson, Frankie Dusen, Buddy Petite circa 1916)

4) Peerless Orchestra (circa 1910) Concert version of the Below Band

5) The Ten Well Known Gentlemen (circa 1909) Dance Version of above

6) Original Superior Orchestra (Bunk Johnson, Peter Bocage circa 1908)

7) Creole Orchestra From N.O. (Freddie Keppard, George Baquet, circa 1914)

Then came ODJB and recordings. They used piano (no banjo or double bass).
Lots of bands copied them.

King Oliver used piano and Double bass. Circa 1920s.

NORK used piano and Double Bass. etc. Circa 1920's.

I'm not sure when banjo/tuba became the hip rhythm instruments but maybe
they peaked during or after the "revival" years of Lu Watters, George Lewis
and Shakey's? :-) VBG.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Bob Romans at cellblk7 at comcast.net wrote:

> 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>
 
>> 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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> 
>