[Dixielandjazz] The Dixieland or Jazz Look

[Steve Barbone]

 Larry Walton at larrys.bands at charter.net wrote: (polite snip)

> Is this right for the college crew?  Probably not and Steve makes a valid
> point but It seems to me that with the instrumentation (Guitar, Electric
> Bass) that Steve has that his group is more of a crossover group that would
> appeal to the non OKOM buyer also.  It's a good business plan to be
> versatile.

Not an electric bass, Ace Tesone plays the big double bass that the very
first jazz bands used. In fact, the only instrumentation difference between
us and the original black jazz bands in New Orleans is that our guitar is
amplified and theirs were not.

Even Banjo/Tuba came decades despite those who opine that real trad bands
must contain banjo/tuba rhythm sections.

We are somewhat crossover in that we can, and often do, play some American
Songbook at certain gigs. And yes, we appeal to non-OKOM buyers. But the
music is loose, sort of in the style of the Condon groups in NYC after 1950,
and Conrad Janis who he mixed black Kansas City Blues based jazz players
with his white New Orleans Revival players. To a jazz head, I describe what
we do as NYC, Kansas City, Chicago style Dixieland.

Rarely recorded, the music of the small NYC groups following the demise of
the big bands was hard swinging Dixieland. The black players took Dixieland
gigs to survive, and played Dixieland with the best of them.

Eldridge, Hawkins, Herbie Hall, Vic Dickenson, J.C. Higginbotham, Jonah
Jones, Hot Lips Page, et al., were all now cooking in Dixieland bands.

Cheers,
Steve