[Dixielandjazz] Getting serious for a minute

[James O'Briant]

Russ Guarino wrote:

> > I wandered over to one of the bands and took 
> > a quite look at the tune they were playing.
> > 
> > It was in Gb concert.  I happened to know that the band, 
> > consisting of seven pieces had four subs.  On of the guys was 
> > a killer coronet player who could not read very well.  His 
> > part was in Ab. He was not playing.
> > How many guys can sight read Gb concert at 180 BPM?
> > 
> > Question:  Why have a tune in Gb when with just a half step 
> > lower it would be in concert F, which everybody could play?

In his reply, Harold Smith wrote: 

> What is really arduous are those adventurous song writers 
> who take you into uncharted waters, ...

As he wrote the above phrase, Harold has almost answered the question.
However, this band wasn't in "uncharted waters" it was in "charted Watters."

I was one of the subs in that band, on tuba.  (Actually, there were three
subs in an 8-piece band -- tuba, piano and reeds.) The tune was a Lu Watters
tune, and we were reading from umpteenth-generation photocopies of Watters'
original manuscript parts.  Watters wrote a lot of stuff in four, five and
six flats.  The leader of this band wants us to do the Watters tunes in the
original keys, so we do.  (I wish Watters had given the tuba player more
solos, 'cuz I don't get to improvise in those keys very often...)

The second cornet player in question wasn't a sub; he's now the regular
second cornet with that band, but has been with them for a relatively short
time. In the past, he's been accustomed to being the lead cornet in a
7-piece band, and he's still adapting to the role of second cornet in an
8-piece band. Also in his defense, the Watters charts have Cornet I and
Cornet II on the same staff (stems up and stems down), and Watters' chicken
scratches aren't very easy to read.

Incidentally, I was able to wander over and hear Russ and his band during
one of our breaks, and they sounded good!

Jim O'Briant
Tuba
Gilroy, CA