[Dixielandjazz] What general audiences expect (IMO)

[David Dustin]

Yes, Louis Lince, shame on me. I guess I am sinning greatly that grace might
abound, not to recognize Louis Armstrong tunes (2 Deuces and Skip the
Gutter) from the 1920s.  But I don¹t listen to everything he ever recorded,
and neither does the average audience member we see.  I reiterate that
³obscure² classics like those two songs will usually not reach and grab a
general audience, despite appeal to OKOM connoisseurs.  General audiences
<i>want</i> Tiger Rag, The Saints, Muskrat Ramble, And the Music Goes Round
and Round, and other recognizable tunes that they can relate to, like Hello
Dolly and Midnight In Moscow, which they heard in the 1960s.  Put up Boo-Koo
Jack or Muggles, <i>or</i> 2 Deuces <i>or</i> Skip the Gutter in succession
and you¹ve just lost your audience ­ notwithstanding these tunes¹ connection
to Louis Armstrong -- in this rural area.

Ringwald is right: strict authenticity is not required for a 1920s
gangster-theme party...the <i>semblance</i> of 1920s authenticity is what
sells for general audiences.

Make my jazz melodic,
David Dustin