[Dixielandjazz] What general audiences expect (IMO)

[Ron L]

Ah, Skip the Gutter and Two Deuces.  These are great tunes recorded by Louis
Armstrong.  If you like the music and start searching for the artists who
played it and their recordings, you will start to find these kinds of tunes.
Should they be played for the general public?  Absolutely.  Should the
program be all obscure tunes?  Absolutely NOT.   I was in College when I
first got to hear early Louis Armstrong recordings.  It was a revelation.
It was not until 4 or so years later that I was able to hear a live band do
the same tunes (and other obscure items).  In some cases I did not remember
that I'd heard the original recordings and was pleasantly surprised to
discover that I had them in my library at a later date. The band I like the
most is the New Black Eagles.  Often I like the way they play some of the
tunes I first heard on early recordings even more than I like the early
recordings.   Sweetie Dear is a good example.

Ron L

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of David Dustin
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:47 PM
To: lherault at bu.edu
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] What general audiences expect (IMO)

Jeanne Brei wrote:
...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.
<snip>

Jeanne¹s experience supports the argument that the typical OKOM audience
seeking ENTERTAINMENT, as opposed to artistic exploration and fulfillment,
will be more than satisfied with familiar OKOM standards from any decade and
not obscure titles <snip>

Like many other people, John Q. Public or even musicians, I¹ve never heard
³Skip the Gutter² or ³2 Deuces².  Great songs? Quite possibly. Can they be
fairly characterized as ³bottom shelf² or ³Tin Pan Alley detritus² of the
1920s?  If most people have never heard of them, I would say so. They could
be perfectly snappy 1920s songs, but I will bet that any band playing them
in front of the average 40 townspeople around a bandstand would probably see
people start to pack up their lawnchairs and head for their cars and the
lure of the Boob Tube. Call it what you want, Jeanne¹s ³Vegas-style²
programming method is what works outside the pockets of ³well-informed,
listening² OKOM audiences found in urban centers or at the big festivals.
And Bob¹s point about selecting songs for a 1920s gangster style party that
sound like authentic 1920s songs is valid.

David Dustin