[Dixielandjazz] Conrad Janis' New Film

[Stephen G Barbone]

On Jul 20, 2008, at 5:57 PM, Marek Boym wrote:

> Hello Steve,
> You say "It is a great pity that most of the Dixieland output of these
>> mainstream players was not recorded, possibly because the record  
>> companiescouldn't see the value of it.  (Black mainstreamers  
>> playing Dixieland)"
> Well, I remember the Wilbur de Paris Plays Cole Porter album (my
> favourite de Paris) being put down in the Jazz Journal on those
> grounds  exactly - "what are those mainstreamers doing playing
> dixieland!"   Another reason for discrediting that excellent  
> recording was Lee Blair's banjo - why should mainstream musicians  
> use a banjo in their band (while not a great banjo fan myself, I  
> protested, arguing that, when played as Lee Blair did, the banjo was  
> just great).

Hello Marek:

I saw Lee Blair with DeParis many times and loved his playing also.  
Many of the reviewers thought at the time that DeParis had "a flawed  
concept of Dixieland". I think because the DeParis brothers were big  
band musicians who started to play Dixieland after the big band jobs  
disappeared. . . and because they were Black.

Basically, DeParis had visited Janis' venues night after night, copied  
the Janis book of tunes/arrangements and then undercut Janis' price at  
Ryan's. The Janis band had asked for a small raise at the same time  
DeParis quoted a price below their existing one. So, game over. Janis  
was let go and DeParis hired.

That was a real turn about. Janis had originally copied Ory, then  
DeParis copied Janis. But the Janis style changed as the mainstream  
players (Black) he used injected some Kansas City swing and high  
energy into his music with wonderful results.

While I preferred the various Janis bands myself, there is no question  
that seeing Omer Simeon and Sidney DeParis in Wilbur's band at Ryan's  
was also a treat.

I also remember Vic Dickenson being hammered in the reviews as "not  
being a real Dixieland player". And hearing people say they didn't  
like Roy Eldridge's Dixieland, some 20 years before you saw him. I  
never could figure that out, having worked Dixieland with Roy when he  
was near his peak as a musician. As well as with Coleman Hawkins. Both  
played great Dixieland as far as I'm concerned.

For some reason back then, the media reviewers felt that Blacks played  
"Small Band Jazz", or New Orleans Jazz while Whites played  
"Dixieland". Even when the tunes, band make ups and styles were  
virtually the same. The difference in descriptions started in the  
1930s, as Sudhalter points out in "Lost Chords,". From then on the  
word "Dixieland" seemed to apply only to White bands as far as the  
reviewers were concerned. Sudhalter also says the description  
difference eventually came to be used by most fans.

Even today when people say no blacks play Dixieland. I just shake my  
head. Especially since I had 3 blacks in my band Saturday Night and as  
far as I'm concerned we played Dixieland.

When I go down my call list, I could easily front a Black Dixieland  
Band with me as the only white and have done so a time or two this year.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.barbonestreet.com
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband