[Dixielandjazz] Trombone Style Change - Was Jack Jenny

[Stephen G Barbone]

>
> "Stan Brager" <sbrager at socal.rr.com> wrote (polite snip)
>
> Jenny had nothing to do with the stylistic change of the trombone  
> from that
> evident on recordings with Kid Ory. That change had already been  
> adopted by
> most modern (late '20s) trombonists when Jenny came on the scene in  
> the
> early '30s.

Well said Stan.

I think historically, guys like Ory were ear players. Many guys who  
copied Ory were also ear players. And in the context of "New Orleans"  
Jazz, Ory got tagged as the "definitive" trombone player.

However, Miff Mole and others were more classically trained. Their  
influences were the "legit" trombonists first, and then, as in Mole's  
case, Eddie Edwards. When Mole was learning how to play trombone, in  
the New York area around 1910 or so, the classical trombonists were  
defining the trombone as a solo instrument, not merely a foundation  
instument. And so some of the New Yorkers developed a very different  
approach to jazz, especially Mole.

Sometimes, IMO,  we get too inbred in jazz. We preach listening over  
and over to our heros like Ory and decide that he speaks the truth  
while Mole and Teagarden were heretics. But Mole was on the jazz scene  
by 1918, and has as much right to being a "definitive" jazz trombonist  
as Ory does.

IMO it is not enough to listen to the original jazz players. To be  
complete, one should listen to the people they listened to. To get  
into their minds as to why they did what they did. In Armstrong's  
case, listening to conetist Herbert  Clarke, will give us some insight  
about one of Armstrong's roots. (Especially the West End Blues  
Cadenza) Or in Bechet's case, listing to Enrico Caruso (ah that  
vibrato) and in Mole's case listening to Herbert Clarke's brother, a  
trombonist and teacher in NYC and also a member of Sousa's Band in  
1915-16. Other famed New Yorkers who were changing the way trombone  
was played prior to 1920 were Arthur Prior, Gardell Simons and Charlie  
Randall, one of Mole's early teachers..

They above mentioned "legit" musicians had tremendous influence on the  
jazzers and to this day, many jazz musicians listen to classical music  
and/or virtuoso players and derive inspiration from it.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

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