[Dixielandjazz] Porte ñ a Jazz Band/"cartoon music"

[Charles Suhor]

Agree with both Russ and Steve that the "cartoon" music and related 
styles are precise and take a good reader to play them well. In fact, 
you can ruin a good Mickey arrangement by getting either careless or 
too hip.

I don't enjoy playing those styles, but that's a a matter of taste. I'm 
not a good sight reader, so that makes ANY reading gig a challenge, and 
"harder" than a fake/jam/jazz gig for me. Just the opposite for most of 
the players in the 18 piece band I play with. Jazz isn't just harder 
than playing the charts for 13 of them. They flat can't do it. I could 
improve my reading, a matter of degree, much easier than they could 
make what's a quantum leap for them into jazz. They've mastered the art 
of jazz section playing, no small accomplishment, but as Steve says, 
it's rarer to find competent jazz improvisers in any style. Of course, 
many are good at both, and they work a lot.

Charlie Suhor

On Jan 16, 2007, at 4:06 PM, Steve Barbone wrote:

> on 1/16/07 4:40 PM, Russ Guarino at russg at redshift.com wrote:
>> Call it what you will,
>>
>> If you have ever sat in a band that played this kind of music, you 
>> know how
>> challenging it is.  Requires fast, precise playing in ensemble 
>> settings.
>> Everybody had to be an exceptional musician.
>
> Yes, I totally agree and said so in my original post.
>
>> I have always found it exhilarating to play this music.
>
> Each to his own. I can understand that. I hate to play it. To me it is 
> like
> playing Glenn Miller arrangements.
>
>> Trad jazz is easy by comparison.
>
> Totally disagree. Any trained musician can play cartoon music well. 
> Only a
> very few musicians of any sort can play trad jazz well. Especially the
> improvisation part which many cannot do at all.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>