[Dixielandjazz] 1920s "detritus"

[Jeanne Brei]

Regarding playing the 20's "gems" rather than the "standards", when I first 
moved to Vegas, I was asked to perform for the "Brown Bag Cabaret" at Debbie 
Reynolds Hotel doing a "New York-style cabaret show". Well, in NYC, a 
typical cabaret show is 12 songs, 10 of which are gems and two of which are 
slightly obscure standards -- because the audience is a well-informed, 
listening audience that primarily listens with their head.
    So, I wrote up a NY-style cabaret show and within the 2-3 songs, I could 
feel the Vegas audience's attention drifting - they wanted the STANDARDS 
that they know because they listen from their heart and below (the chakras 
in use in Vegas tend to be the 2nd, 3rd & 4th). So I turned to my pianist 
and said, "Stormy Weather in C and we'll get them back". And we did -- and 
we threw out most of the rest of the set and just did songs that they would 
all know.
    Fortunately, I was then asked back every couple of months for more shows 
and I reversed the NY-style to "Vegas-style cabaret" - 12 songs, 10 of which 
everyone knows ALL the words to - and two "gems." And to get them to listen 
to the gems, I would create a medley that started with a song they knew 
(like "It's Been A Long, Long Time) and then morph into a gem (in this 
example, I would go into Mae West's "A Guy What Takes His Time" - with a 
one-line transition joke that talked about different definitions of a 
Looonnngg time!) And I still couldn't do all four verses of Mae's song --  
the audience attention span for a song they didn't know was two verses max.
    Of course, this doesn't hold true at jazz festivals or anywhere where 
musicians are the audience -- they're not even listening to the words 
either -- they're listening to chord progressions and musical virtuosity. 
But I must say, the more 20s & 30s gems that I hear, the more I love them --  
may the bottom shelf of musical history rise to live again!
Jeanne Brei

Jeanne Brei
Tin Pan Alley Cat Entertainment
Las Vegas, NV
http://www.jeannebrei.com
NEW! I'm on YouTube! Click here to sing John & I singing! 
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http://www.viewnews.com/2002/VIEW-Jun-28-Fri-2002/Summerlin/19044673.html
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <confit at isp.com>
To: <tinpanalleycat at cox.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 7:02 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] 1920s "detritus"


> David Dustin wrote...
> "?Detritus?
> was meant to characterize obscurantist song selections that no one has 
> heard
> of and which were justly relegated to the bottom shelf of musical 
> history."
>
> David, just who do mean by "no one?" I could list a hundred GOOD tunes
> from the 1920s that were NOT popular, by any means, and probably would fit
> into your "bottom shelf" category. Yet they are worthwhile numbers and
> there are people who know them AND PLAY THEM. To give you an example,
> songwriter Willard Robison wrote two very well-known numbers: "A Cottage
> for Sale," and "Old Folks." Yet he wrote many other tunes that were
> "relegated to the bottom shelf" until someone took the time to dig them up
> and make recordings of them, like Jack Teagarden's 50s recording "Think
> Well of Me." A similar point could be made for many other popular
> songwriters.
>
> I could just as easily say that "Big Bear Stomp" is detritus because I
> personally don't think it's as good a number as "Body and Soul." That
> doesn't change the fact that people like it and want to hear it bands
> enjoy playing it.
>
> I suggest everyone take a gander at "Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories
> 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music," which lists the most
> popular numbers based on record and sheet music sales including the 1920s.
> I bet there are a substantial number of tunes that many people, even those
> into OKOM, have never heard of yet were big hits. But then there are
> likely people who do know them and might even play them.
>
> I'd also recommend for anyone who wishes to dismiss offhand "obscure"
> popular music from either the 1920s or 1930s, that they listen to the
> comments made by cornetist Ruby Braff from this interview conducted on
> July 4, 2000, supposedly Louis Armstrong's 100 birthday.
> http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2000/07/20000704_a_main.asp
>
> Cheers,
> Chris Buch
>
>
>
>
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