[Dixielandjazz] Does Loud equal Fire.

[Stephen G Barbone]

On May 16, 2008, at 4:34 AM, John Petters wrote:
>
>
> Steve,
> Not having been there in the 50s, when you saw the Condon Band -  
> what did they have in the way of amplification?  My experiences with  
> the American guests was that they didn't like it. Davern is a case  
> in point. I also say the Lawson Haggart South Rampart St Paraders at  
> the massive Croydon Fairfield Hall in the mid 80s - no amps, yet you  
> could hear everything, including the rhythm guitar.

Jon and List Mates:

Condon Bands played without amplification as did most Dixieland Bands  
in NYC in the 1940s-50s. At most they might have a center mike, like  
at Jimmy Ryans, in front of Omer Simeon, but it was used mostly for  
announcements.

Below is a Marty Grosz (78 year old acoustic jazz guitarist) comment  
about amplification from an interview in 2007 that explains the  
difference in sound between those who learned to how to play  an  
instrument in the days before amplification as opposed to now. Said  
Marty about loudness. (and the energy created by the physical effort  
of blowing loudly)

"I blame amplification and microphones for the lack of players with a  
big, full sound. Think of Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster,  
Jimmy Blanton, or Freddie Green. These guys learned to play before  
amplification was everywhere. They learned to play big and loud in  
order to be heard. That physical effort created a unique sound and an  
energy that I rarely hear today. Anybody can play a million notes on  
an instrument if there is a mic an inch away and no effort is required  
to produce the sound." (Marty Grosz, Milwaukee WI, Dec 13, 2007)

The above also helps explain why I, who learned pre amplification,  
talk about the volume of the guys I was lucky enough to  have played  
with Hawkins, Eldridge, Lawson, Erwin, Lee Gifford, Cutshall, et al  
and even the classical genius, Glenn Dodson. They ALL had big, full,  
fat, loud, sound. Why? Because they had to in order to be heard.  
Davern's advice to me when I was 16? "Blow louder."

As an aside, Davern learned to blow loudly as a 15 year old because  
his teacher put him into a large closet full of coats with the  
admonition to continue raising his volume until he could hear himself.  
He spent many days in that closet. <grin>
We were taught/mentored back then to play so those in the back of the  
hall could hear us. That meant high volume.

Folks who only have the records to go by, and/or did not see, or work  
with the older generation players in acoustic settings miss out on  
both their loudness and the historical reasons for it. They were much  
louder than today's players. They key sentence is Marty's last one  
above: "Anybody can play a million notes on an instrument if there is  
a mic an inch away and no effort is required to produce the sound."

Cheers,
Steve Barbone



On May 16, 2008, at 4:34 AM, John Petters wrote:
>
> Steve,
> Not having been there in the 50s, when you saw the Condon Band -  
> what did they have in the way of amplification?  My experiences with  
> the American guests was that they didn't like it. Davern is a case  
> in point. I also say the Lawson Haggart South Rampart St Paraders at  
> the massive Croydon Fairfield Hall in the mid 80s - no amps, yet you  
> could hear everything, including the rhythm guitar.