[Dixielandjazz] St Louis Blues - Why do bands play it diffrently from the original?

[Steve Barbone]

on 10/11/07 12:41 AM, Gluetje1 at aol.com at Gluetje1 at aol.com wrote:

Thanks, Steve, and all who responded.  The original question was not about
the sheet music, but about when and how did it happen that Dixieland jazz
bands usually do not follow the sheet music, instead do 16 bars of the
"Spanish" tinge as the beginning (not 8).  And actually, that has not been
answered.
Ginny


I hear you, Ginny, and will guess.

When the tune was written in 1914, most jazz bands did not read music, but
rather copied it from hearing it played, and or just followed the lead of
the trumpet or clarinet which was playing the melody. Differences crept in
from the very beginning. Like Band A hears Handy do it, Band B hears Band A
do it, Band C hears band B do it. By the time it gets to Band C, it is a
different tune and you can imagine how it changes with a few more links in
the chain.

Or in Bessie Smith's case she eliminates the intro and just sings it from
Verse start, to Chorus Finish. It takes 3 minutes and 7 seconds, the time
limit for the tune on record. That was in the 1920s.

And Glenn Miller does it as a March to make it fit the times. (WW 2)

Or in our cases today, many of us "ear" the tunes we play rather than
following the original sheet music. And/or we use a handed down copy of a
lead sheet which is often different from the original sheet music. (Years
ago, when I suggested that folks buy the original sheet music rather than
send out second hand copies of lead sheets I was roundly booed on the DJML
<grin>) Or we use a fake book.

I checked all four fake books I use. One has no intro, like the Bessie Smith
version. The other three, including the venerable Sheik's fake book show a
16 bar A section which is the Spanish Tinge, rather than the 8 bar intro as
shown in the original sheet music. So, if learning from a fake book, bands
would most likely use a song form which differs from the original. Its like
the blind leading the blind.

Barbone Street does it with 16 bars of Spanish Tinge first. Because that's
the way our trumpet guy learned it. As a sideman, I've played it correctly
in one band, with no intro (like Bessie Smith) in another, and with with 16
bars of Spanish Tinge intro in another.

Same for lots of music, like Richard Rodgers telling Peggy Lee when she
asked him how he liked her version of "Lover". (up tempo 4/4)  "Peggy dear,
I wrote it as a Waltz."

How long have variations from the original been going on? Since the
beginning. Because few Dixieland Bands worked from original sheet music in
the past, and fewer still do so today.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone 


on 10/11/07 12:41 AM, Gluetje1 at aol.com at Gluetje1 at aol.com wrote:

Thanks, Steve, and all who responded.  The original question was not about
the sheet music, but about when and how did it happen that Dixieland jazz
bands usually do not follow the sheet music, instead do 16 bars of the
"Spanish" tinge as the beginning (not 8).  And actually, that has not been
aswered.
Ginny