[Dixielandjazz] RE: What is "Trad Jazz"?

[Don Mopsick]

The main thrust of Graham's reply to my essay is well taken, and I
should have added to my piece that since I know very little about
British and European "trad" I did not feel qualified to comment on it. I
am aware that "trad" today is used in those lands quite differently than
in the US, regardless of who it was that started using it. In fact, US
players with which I converse use the term "British Trad" to refer to
what we would understand as traditional jazz played with a slightly
different but unique and instantly recognizable accent. 
 
I hear no such stylistic difference from Americans, however, when I
listen to bands from Australia, except maybe for Bob Barnard playing
tunes by Dave Dallwitz, etc. That could just be because I haven't heard
very many of them either. 
 
I do take issue, however, with Graham's use of "Dixieland," which for me
confuses more than elucidates. Especially his use of "White Dixieland."
The historical truth is that black and white JAZZ bands of the 20s and
30s played mostly exactly the same tunes in their live performances in
the same style (especially if they were both from New Orleans), and
there were other bands of both races playing pop music that had NO jazz
content at all. I defy anyone to take a blindfold test to determine the
race of any given early jazz band, it simply can't be done. Just give a
listen to the Big Broadcast to prove this. This was because 
 
a.	Jazz had not yet penetrated mainstream white and black society.
"Upwardly mobile" black people of the day, just like their white
counterparts, distained jazz and forbade their children to frequent
places where it was played, much less playing it themselves.
b.	As Dick Sudhalter wrote in "Lost Chords," the public perception
of what style of jazz was produced by which race was distorted by record
company executives of the day who thought they knew what the "public"
would tolerate. So, black bands that were very adept at more formal
dance arrangements (for example, Troy Floyd, a Texas black band which
sounded exactly like any white hotel-rooftop orchestra)  were permitted
to record only music that fit the black stereotype, and white bands were
forbidden from recording more rough, free-wheeling blues-influenced
music that "sounded black."
 
NOTE: I am referring here to JAZZ and not BLUES, which is a completely
different story. As noted in my essay, the two did intersect at times,
and that's where my contention about "blindfold-test-proof" above breaks
down. 
 
For me, the key to understanding early jazz is Louis Armstrong. After a
jazz musician (of any race or from any country) heard Louis for the
first time, his playing would change drastically, he would then try to
swing the way Louis did. And, when Louis himself was asked about all
these classifications, he famously replied that there are only two kinds
of music, good and bad. I think we should try to think the way Louis
did, that is, there is the Louis way to swing and there is everything
else. Just like modern jazz "hipsters" think of themselves as extensions
of Ellington and Parker/Gillespie, I think of myself as an extension of
Louis, even if I find myself in a more modern situation such as the show
we did two years ago about Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. 
 
Here's a quote from Jay McShann, the great Kansas City pianist and
bandleader (still living) who was the first employer of Charlie Parker:
 
"They said Bird played bebop, but Bird could still swing. I've heard a
lot of guys play bebop, but they wasn''t swinging."
 
I also object to the use of "Our Kind of Music." Not very precise, it
only serves to perpetuate wrong assumptions. I much prefer simply
"jazz."  We as purveyors of earlier jazz styles have every right to take
back the "jazz" label for ourselves. To deny this is like saying that
your grandfather has no right to call himself by his surname because
he's older than you and no one would know whom you're talking about
anyway. Let those who came later feel the need for a modifying adjective
like "modern," "progressive," or my favorite, "hipster." 
 
mopo
 
Don Mopsick, Riverwalk Webmaster