[Dixielandjazz] Question from Igor

[Steve Heist]

Good Morning all...

snip
> I personally do not find many modern tunes that I want to play.  I have to 
> play them on legit gigs but don't enjoy doing them on Jazz gigs.
end snip

There are literally hundreds of "modern" songs that either ARE jazz tunes or 
can be easily modified.  Back in the late 60's, people kept asking for the 
"pop" song - Hello Dolly - so every jazz band was almost literally forced to 
learn it.

Today, the songs are a little more "hidden", because of the great variety of 
music that's available, and you have to look for them, but believe me, they 
ARE there!  One of the best, IMHO, is "You and Me" from Victor, Victoria - 
fantastic "trad" song, sung by Robert Preston and Julie Andrews!

The musical Chicago is loaded with "OKOM".  As said earlier, Randy Newman 
does tons of songs in "our style" as well as many other modern artists. 
Michael Buble is making a fortune recycling the old songs and making them 
accessible to the older AND younger audiences.  But as long as people have 
refuse to explore what's out there, they won't look for them, won't discover 
them, and I think a great way to meet a larger audience will be lost. 
Shame...

ALL the Best,
Steve