[Dixielandjazz] Don Vappie, etc.

[Fr M J (Mike) Logsdon]

I've been meaning to quote this for some time, from the liner notes for
Vappie's "In Search of King Oliver" (1998).  Any comments, all?:

"But the more I learned about jazz, it seemed the less I knew for sure.  I
know of no subject - except maybe politics - where there is less agreement
and less finger-pointing and petty jealousy, all at the expense of the
listener who wants to understand how the music he likes came to be.

In searching for the music my ear found pleasing and beautiful, I found the
personal belief of musicians and jazz experts, as well as established
guideposts in jazz literature, to be wildly divergent and unreliable.
Typically, if you ask a jazz artist or fan what describes small group jazz
played in the New Orleans style, they will call it traditional jazz, or
Dixieland.  But what does this mean, and who is right?

I do not call the music on this album traditional jazz.  That term has been
slapped on everything from modern white Dixieland groups playing in Seattle
to Norwegian style-mimics playing in Europe to Woody Allen's
clarinet-playing in New York to New Orleans' own Preservation Hall Jazz
Band.  I don't know what traditional jazz describes any more [sic].

The music performed on this album is classic jazz.  The term classic jazz in
the New Orleans style has a focused and narrow bandwidth:  It refers to
disciplined ensemble playing with well-defined and consistently played
instrument parts for each song which are best performed from close
arrangements.  Notes are followed and played for each instrument the same
way each time.  One only has to listen to King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band
recordings to hear this style.

What about improvisation?  The tight discipline of the classic New Orleans
style allows for a sure-footed progression through each piece.  Since the
musicians know exactly where each other are at all times, individual
expression in coloration, mood, and beat is not only possible, but comes
naturally.  The music, contrary to perceived wisdom and instinct, becomes
more alive and beautiful.  The chaos and cacophony of unbridled
improvisation contrasts with the swinging, happy emotion this recording
evokes.  The proof is in the listening, and the music on this CD once heard,
I think you will agree:  The perceived wisdom, oft-repeated and rarely
challenged, that improvisation and beauty in performance are stifled by
scored arrangements in small group jazz, is wrong."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
> [mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com]On Behalf Of Don Ingle
> Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 6:09 PM
> To: Rev M J (Mike) Logsdon
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Tom Fischer
>
>
> If those who wondered why Tom Fischer was not at N.O., he is on the road
> with Don Vapie's Creole Serenaders.
> We caught the band at the Bix Fest, and they were going to Minnesota next.
> Hey, great band  -- was the "surprise"  band for many. Real Creole
> sound, good blend of two trpts., two reeds, and a great rhythm section
> that can play with the "Spanish Twinge" and Carribean feel. The leader,
> for those not knowing, is banjo and guitar player -- but that's
> understatement to the enth! On banjo he is a virtuoso...so good that
> people run towards him not away from him when the banjo comes out! His
> guitar work is also great. Surpized no one mentioned him in Bix fest
> posts. But the audience was fully enjoying it, and the musicos among
> them were high on the band as well.
> You've got to catch this band if they come your way.
> Don Ingle
>
>
>
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