[Dixielandjazz] Band Costumes

[Ministry of Jazz]

Just one more thing ...

The point has been made, and is well taken, that band costumes or uniforms
do not have to be suits, red vests or straw hats. The point is that we ought
to look professional, and dress appropriate for what we're doing. The visual
does matter. It's not the only thing that matters, but it does matter. But
we don't have to be a circus act either. With a bit of effort and thought,
any band can come up with one or more "looks" that fit their style. It can
be comfortable, nothing wrong with that.

An extreme example, though, from my guys. Israelis tend to be very casual, I
mean very! I had a heck of a time getting my guys to wear white shirts with
collars, rather than white T-shirts. We have tailor made silk vests, white
pants with red stripes down the legs, and they felt completely OK with white
T-shirts and sneakers or even sandals. For playing on the street, I didn't
make an issue of it. But when we started getting better gigs, I put my foot
down.

We decided to add another uniform to our repertoire on one of my trips to
India. I came home with blue pants with metallic gold stripes on the legs,
and blue satin shirts with a sort of swashbuckling flare. Although this is
what we decided on together, when I came home with the goods, the guys
didn't like the shirts. They tried to tell me that we should wear the pants
with white T-shirts and red suspenders. I finally had to explain to them
that T-shirts are underwear, not band uniforms or dress shirts. Showing up
with tailor made pants and T-shirts is like going out half dressed. Somehow
I managed to convince them, or else they're humoring me, but we are now
wearing shirts with collars. And it only took 3 years...

OK, I'll go back to my room now.

Elazar
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537