[Dixielandjazz] Expanding the Repertoire for OKOM/Dixieland

[Gluetje1 at aol.com]

My way of answering this is to ask what audience, if any, you are aiming  for 
and then learning what those audiences enjoy.  Personally I suspect  most 
respond to a good tune as a good tune.  Older audiences often love the  surprise 
of a group giving a "dixieland" treatment to a tune they associate with  
another genre.  Younger audiences love it when you take great old tunes and  add 
some of what they expect to hear.
 
Last Sat. we went to Kansas City to hear the Asylum Street Spankers.   Six 
regulars based in Austin, Texas.  Went to see them because of viewing  them on 
YouTube.  However watching the musicianship and skill with all  angles of 
entertaining I was impressed way beyond what I could glean from  YouTube.  How does 
that relate to this topic?  They, especially  "Whammo" writes all their 
songs, but writes them to "sound like" or  imitate various genres.  They were 
pleasing everybody in the audience,  but yet critics classify them as genre 
defying.  This might hurt them some  in a world that loves to label.  But, if one is 
relatively new to them, as  I was, all of their repertoire sounds both novel 
and familiar.  Good  psychology since people like to be surprised while staying 
within their comfort  zone.
Ginny



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