[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Styles

[jazzchops at isp.com]

>Question for Chris Tyle---

>Let's say you became aware of an unknown group who played some music that
you really liked.  If you were to recommend that group to the list, would
you attempt to give some clue to the style they played?  Maybe say they
remind you a bit of the sound of XYZ group?  I can agree that the
classification of styles can be misused or subject to confusion and
misunderstanding, but how would you answer the question that might be
asked in the example above?  What part of the large jazz spectrum are
they in?

>Ken Gates

>PS--If you liked them, I probably would too----knowing  something of your
jazz >taste. But perhaps your tastes are very broad---- I would
appreciate some >small clue as to what to expect.

I think my tendency would be to try describe the unknown group in terms of
a band of the past. Some groups would be easy to describe this way. A band
like the Yerba Buena Stompers I could easily liken to Lu Watters Yerba
Buena JB. Others would be much more difficult. I play with the Paramount
JB and I would have a very difficult time describing what they do, not
only from the standpoint of their incredibly varied repertoire, but also
because of their unusual instrumentation (two reeds, no trombone). I guess
they would need to be described as a repertory ensemble, but then again,
what kind of description is that, really?

But, I think that comparing one group to another is more practical than
using the geographic categories. For instance, since the subject of Kansas
City has been mentioned before, if I heard a band with two
trumpets/trombone/two or three reeds/piano/tuba/banjo/drums and they
played the tune Jones-Law Blues, and described them as a Kansas City style
band, somebody might object because there is a tuba in the equation --
especially if that person's knowledge of KC jazz was only Basie. Yet that
was the instrumentation of Bennie Moten's band around 1926. What of King
Oliver's Dixie Syncopators at around the same time? They no longer are a
"New Orleans" style band. They are playing in Chicago but not, according
to the category, playing Chicago style jazz. But, then again, they are not
really a big band because they don't have the requisite number of pieces.

Bit of a conundrum, isn't it?


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