[Dixielandjazz] Another Woody Review

[Stephen G Barbone]

Here is another Woody review. Note especially the last paragraph. As  
to whether his brand of jazz hurts or helps OKOM, we might ponder this  
question, Is it better If lots of folks will come to see him, or  
better if nobody comes to hear a band that we OKOM aficionados like?
IMO, Dixieland is not very popular except for folks like us on the  
DJML and a few fans. Most jazz critics disparage it as old and worn  
out, no matter who plays it. And most people don' come to hear it.
So if they come to see/hear Woody Allen, how does that hurt OKOM? If  
they come to see/hear Preservation Hall how does that hurt OKOM?  
Perhaps we are a wee bit elitist to think that a popular band could  
harm the genre when their audience (relatively large) both likes it  
and supports it.
Allen occupies a unique place in OKOM. He loves it and he has an  
audience. Same for Preservation Hall. They both draw audiences. The  
rest of us, for the most part, do not. That's the bottom line and  
anything else is conjecture. (IMO)
Cheers,
Steve Barbone

www.barbonestreet.com
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband

Woody Allen honks his way to applause
KATE MOLLESON ,  The Gazette
Published: Monday, June 30, 2008
It was Woody Allen himself who said that 80 per cent of success is  
showing up, and sure enough, just walking on the stage of Place des  
Arts' Salle Wilfrid Pelletier earned him an almighty cheer from last  
night's audience. There he was with his oversized black-rimmed  
glasses, legs crossed and leaning back in his chair, both feet tapping  
away to the rhythm of his New Orleans Jazz Band.
So the fact that his subsequent first notes elicited laughter rather  
than more cheers could, if we're being kind, just be attributed to his  
demeanour. Even the way Woody sits is funny. Maybe listeners were  
remembering their favourite embarrassing moment in Annie Hall or  
Manhattan.
But maybe, more likely, they were caught off guard by the strange  
sound being produced by his clarinet - a sound so squeezed, it's a  
wonder anything comes out at all. Squeaks, buzzes and the odd  
identifiable note turned out to be the beginning of Woody's first solo  
of the night.
But did it really matter? "I don't even know what instrument he  
plays," the man sitting next to me said before the concert started. "I  
just came for the face." When Woody introduced the set, the same  
neighbour gave me an excited nudge. "Hear that accent? That's why  
we're here!"
My guess is that most of the audience was dying to hear Woody speak  
more, but he made it clear he was here for his music. For the whole  
set, he sat resolutely as just one of the band.
And so the band played on, seven white guys strumming through old-time  
hymns and gospel marches. Sometimes the trumpet or trombone player got  
up to croon a verse or two. For Woody, playing the clarinet has been a  
lifelong labour of love, and that's a pleasure to witness no matter  
what the sound ends up being.
Woody Allen performs again tonight at 7:30 at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier  
of Place des Arts. $72.50-$119.50. 514-842-2112.


© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008



Steve Barbone

www.barbonestreet.com
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband