[Dixielandjazz] Obscure Songs - What the Audience relates to, or not

[David Dustin]

My final word on this topic. I certainly agree with Marek and others that
digging up worthy and unjustly forgotten songs from the ³classic² era ‹ Two
Deuces, Skip the Gutter et al. -- and ingenious trad arrangements of tunes
from other genres (Beatles tunes, Handel¹s Largo, Giant Steps, Wave, etc.)
is creative and a wonderful thing if the band is playing for audiences
comprised of jazz connoisseurs and trad literati. The point that I make, and
that I believe Bob Ringwald was making, is that GENERAL audiences are NOT
tired of That¹s A Plenty, The Saints, Midnight in Moscow, Hello Dolly,
Muskrat and Tiger Rag et al.  That¹s what feeds their need for good-time
jazz entertainment, and the average ³amateur²/OKOM hobby band seeking to
attract a GENERAL audience ignores these tunes at risk of leaving them
unconvinced that they heard live jazz worth telling their friends and
neighbors about.  These tunes evidently are passe in Sacramento and the
European OKOM festivals, but they sure are received well in New Hampshire
and Vermont, to the extent we are able to sell OKOM music at all against the
Celtic, folk, rock, and C&W competition.

That horse had better be dead by now...
David Dustin