[Dixielandjazz] Standards

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

This isn't hard to believe at all.  People today have huge numbers of 
choices when it comes to music and the technology to absolutely ignore many 
parts of the musical spectrum.

When I was young there were about three or four radio stations that had pop 
music.  There wasn't just a whole lot of other choices.  You could do big 
band, jazz, rock or symphonic.

Today with TV, satellite radio, AF, FM, Ipods and the internet the choices 
are almost infinite.  Then add in all the variations of all the different 
kinds of music that are out there.  Rock for example has fragmented into 
dozens of sub styles.

It becomes sensory overload.

It's no wonder that people are becoming more narrow rather than broader in 
their listening habits.

When I first started playing, a knowledge of several hundred "standard" 
tunes was a must.  It was required that you know them well enough so that 
you could play through the tune and take a jazz chorus on it.  Without that 
you weren't pro grade and didn't get hired.  Today I haven't a clue as to 
what a standard tune is.

This struck me several years ago when I was playing with a group of really 
good musicians.  The other four horn players were all USAF musicians.  You 
can't get much more pro than that.  Someone requested the Girl From Ipanema. 
The leader (drummer) kicked it off and the Rhythm section and I did it. 
One knew the head but not the bridge the rest didn't know it at all.
Larry
StL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "pj.ladd" <pj.ladd at btinternet.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 8:28 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Standards


> Hi All,
> I have been struck by a terrible thought. Perhaps  the reason for falling 
> audience numbers for OKOM is that `THEY DON`T KNOW THE TUNES`
>
> This seems incomprehensible to me but I was playing piano at a party the 
> other night and was asked to play something they could sing. I was under 
> the impression that I had been. I was using    THE BUSKER FAKE BOOK. 1001 
> ALL TIME HIT SONGS.
>
> A few guests went through the book saying `Don`t know that......Dont know 
> that` About the only ones they knew were Paperback Writer, Dancing Queen 
> and Peggy Sue and they didn`t want to sing them because they were `old`. 
> Exactly like you? Nah, For all we know? Nah  Fly me to the moon? Nah 
> Jambalayah? Nah!
> This wasnt a gathering of kids. The local vicar and his wife, one retired 
> couple, two couple son the verge of retirement and so on.They weren`t  non 
> musicians. One had a good voice and two beside myself played piano.
>
> I am almost eighty and ,obviously wrongly, I looked on these people as my 
> `contemporaries
>
> I thought the `generation gap` was between me and teenagers. No it aint.!
>
> M
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