[Dixielandjazz] If it's this bad now...

[David Dustin]

Larry Walton wrote:

I found the Black musicians to be highly accomplished but
several were very rude.  I was bumped while playing a solo, I had the mike
suddenly moved and one guy stood between me and the audience while I was
playing.  To be completely fair several were very nice to me but some
definitely didn't want me there.

Larry, last person who stood between me and the audience while I was playing
was a singer; I was admiring the plunging back on her sparkly sheath dress
while struggling to stay on my line but oddly don¹t remember her skin color.
As a white guy in the minority, I once played an MLK Day banquet in Houston
with an integrated band of African-Americans and Hispanics and never
experienced the behavior you observed.  I understand that some, though not
all, African-Americans consider that jazz was a black invention and resent
the presence of white jazzmen who they consider dilletantes. And on the
other side, you have white players like Nick LaRocca proclaiming that jazz
was a white invention! Most of us good people take a large view of its
multi-cultural origins in the New Orleans gumbo kettle and just want the
best players we can find on the job with us.

Oh yeah, there could be ³legal and social drawbacks² as another lister wrote
‹ such as lynching - to black artists who integrated bands in the 1940s. And
Benny Goodman was also putting his star reputation and earning power on the
line. He was at the top of his game and able to carry it off. But I¹ll bet
he didn¹t play too many dates in Birmingham (or St. Louis?) after he brought
Wilson and Hamp along.

Hoping we can always play with the best and remember not to hog the solos...

David Dustin