[Dixielandjazz] Playing for free

[Bob Romans]

When I've been asked to have Cell Block 7 play for free, I've told them OK, 
but they have to pay us for transportation, meals, and for practicing 1-2 
hours every day. They usually catch on quickly...
Warm regards,
Bob Romans,
1617 Lakeshore Dr.,
Lodi, California,95242,
Cell Block 7 Jazz Band,
209-747-1148
www.cellblock7.biz
Friends are the family
that we choose for ourselves!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <dixielandjazz-request at ml.islandnet.com>
To: "Bob Romans" <cellblk7 at comcast.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 12:00 PM
Subject: Dixielandjazz Digest, Vol 85, Issue 42


> Send Dixielandjazz mailing list submissions to
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Dixielandjazz digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Rae Ann and Youtube (Butch Thompson)
>   2. Re: Nat Gonella and Oh Monah (Marek Boym)
>   3. Re: "Louis Armstrong: Good Evening Ev'rybody" reviewed
>      (Jack Mitchell)
>   4. February issue of HotNotes, the Monterey Hot Jazz Society
>      newsletter (John Jamieson)
>   5. Re: Playing for nothing - was music business
>      (Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis)
>   6. Django Reinhardt 100 (Hans en Corrie)
>   7. Kate Smith on new postage stamp (Robert Ringwald)
>   8. Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University
>      (Robert Ringwald)
>   9. Birthdays Jan 23 (Robert Ringwald)
>  10. Play About Ella (Robert Ringwald)
>  11. test-please delete (Jerry Gordon)
>  12. Playing for nothing (Stephen G Barbone)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:40:17 -0600
> From: Butch Thompson <butte1 at mac.com>
> To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Rae Ann and Youtube
> Message-ID: <3B0A2BF1-A587-4676-B6A4-C33592F59661 at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> Katie has this right -- Rae Ann is a genuine friend of the music and
> the musicians.
>
> Butch Thompson
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:19:04 +0200
> From: Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com>
> To: Stephen G Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>,
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Nat Gonella and Oh Monah
> Message-ID:
> <28fe10561001221419o222e081fq4b2bed69af576089 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> If one were to judge NG by "Oh Monah!," one would reach the same
> conclusion as Steve.
> BTW, the song is on an Easton's record with Bud Freeman, and the
> Gonella version sounds good by comparison.
> Cheers
>
> On 22/01/2010, Stephen G Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>> > Cliff Harper <cliffh at tcp.co.uk> wrote (polite snip)
>> >
>> > While writing, ref. the recent exchange of opinions of Nat G's 
>> > playing -
>> > there's a lotta his recorded tunes on Spotify (including his huge hit
>> > 'Oh Monah!' - which was no.1 in Holland/Netherlands - and no doubt
>> > provided for his old age -
>> >
>>
>>
>> Listmates can see/hear Nat Gonella with Ted Easton's Jazz Band,  play & 
>> sing
>> "Oh Monah" at:
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRuIob_mNyc
>>
>> Lots of other Nat G clips on You Tube
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Steve Barbone
>> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz
>> Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>>
>> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>>
>>
>>
>> Dixielandjazz mailing list
>> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:07:21 +1100
> From: "Jack Mitchell" <fjmitch at westnet.com.au>
> To: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] "Louis Armstrong: Good Evening Ev'rybody"
> reviewed
> Message-ID: <603B9C28AD78406CA49CB90C653E3582 at jackm>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> On the afternoon of April 13, 1956 Louis Armstrong and his All Stars
> prerecorded a session to be broadcast over the AMPOL SHOW, a popular night
> time show on Australian  radio in those days.
>
> They began, of course, with  WHEN IT'S SLEEPY TIME DOWN SOUTH, at the end 
> of
> which Louis gave his usual "Good evening, everybody". The programme ended
> with the same tune, but Louis muffed his words by saying "Good afternoon,
> everybody".
>
> Best wishes
> Jack Mitchell
>
> PS: I sent a copy of the programme to the American gentleman (whose name
> I've forgotten) who was doing an Armstrong discography website - he said 
> he
> thought it was the best recording he'd heard by the All Stars.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:46:43 -0800
> From: John Jamieson <jamie at surfnetusa.com>
> To: DJML <Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] February issue of HotNotes, the Monterey Hot
> Jazz Society newsletter
> Message-ID: <4B5A38E3.5060306 at surfnetusa.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> The February issue of HotNotes, the Monterey Hot Jazz Society newsletter
> is online at http://www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebNewsletter.html
> In February our guest band will be "The Zinfandel Stompers." When you
> are on page one, if you have turned up the sound, you will hear a short
> clip from the tune "Dallas Blues" played by "The Zinfandel Stompers."
>
> A portion of the Trail Guide as usual is on page 4.  Go there for
> upcoming Festival information and for links to traditional jazz and
> dance information.
>
> The complete Trail Guide is online at
> http://www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/TrailGuide.html
>
> On Page five, John Chalmers gives you the lineup of "International
> Sextet", they will be playing in March at Dixieland-Monterey.  He also
> shares with you a Karen Beatton message describing changes in "The South
> Burgundy Street Jazz Band." Now that you are on John's page read an
> interesting article "A memory circa 1950 - by Thad McArthur."
>
> The featured tune for February is ?Who Wouldn't Be Jealous Of You?? It's
> on page six, turn up the sound. Thanks Bill Haesler & Phil Wilking for
> your help with the Lyrics.
>
>
> Here are printer friendly newsletter pages
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg1.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg2.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg3.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg4.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg5.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg6.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg7.gif
> www.montereyhotjazzsociety.org/FebPg8.gif
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:03:07 -0600
> From: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis"
> <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> To: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Playing for nothing - was music business
> Message-ID: <366D444585874AC6A83ADE5D5BCCFFDA at COMPACSR1320NX>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=response
>
> Steve and Jim
> If you make a business decision to play free that's up to you like buying
> advertising.  Sometimes you might luck out and apparently you did Steve.
>
> Unfortunately this is the line that is used so often to lure musicians to
> play for free.  Young bands fall for this all the time.  A lot of the time
> they end up actually paying.
>
> My Brother in law when he was about 17 was in a pretty good band.  A local
> church had a battle of the bands.  The entry fee was $50 for each band.
> There were 4 bands.  The prize for the best band was $200 (DUH!)  The band
> lost their money... played for an hour... got no more jobs.... the church
> made out like bandits with the door and sales of cokes etc.
>
> A business decision is OK if there is a real chance to get work from it.
> This is usually a sucker play.  After a band gets burned a couple of times
> they learn.
>
> I think the difference is who asks you to play.  If they ask then look
> out.... If you ask then you retain control.
>
> Before I asked anyone in my band to play free I would have to have 
> everyone
> agree and that means everyone including me.
>
> I am right now considering a concert at a church.  I am fronting the money
> for the band.  If the gate exceeds the cost of the band then the church
> makes money and I get my front money back and maybe the church will start 
> a
> concert series.  I have seen others do it and be successful.  The worst
> thing that will happen is I will lose a couple hundred bucks but I stand 
> to
> gain too.  In any event the members of the band will get paid.  I just 
> don't
> believe in having guys work and not get something.  I'm the boss and I 
> take
> the risk not the guys.
>
> The only reason why I'm doing this is because the Priest is not a
> businessman and is overly cautious.  If it makes money he will be a whole
> lot more receptive to live music in the future.  I have little doubt that 
> it
> will make money and when it does I can persuade other groups to play.
>
> Music in some ways is like farming.... you have to plant some seeds before
> you can harvest anything.
>
> I would caution anyone who has the urge to play for free to step back and
> try to think it out in a businesslike way and ask:  Am I likely to get 
> work
> from this.  If the answer is only a forlorn maybe then don't do it.
>
> Free is the best price in the world.
> Larry
> StL
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 3:28 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Playing for nothing - was music business
>
>
>> >
>>> "Jim Kashishian" <jim at kashprod.com>
>>>
>>>> Interesting 3 minute perspective on the music business from  Guitarist
>>>> Dick
>>> Dale.
>>>
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AJxc3Lxn4o
>>>
>>> More negative than interesting, I would say.  He ends by telling  young
>>> guys
>>> to get out there and play for nothing if they have to.  That's not a
>>> great
>>> idea, and has been put down pretty strongly by some on djml in the 
>>> past!
>>
>>
>>
>> I am one of those whom excoriates those who play freebies on an  ongoing
>> basis. However, there are times when it just might make good  marketing
>> sense to play a freebie. Especially for a young band with no 
>> credentials.
>> I think Dick Dale suggests playing a free gig to get  paying gigs and not
>> freebies all the time just for the sake of playing  in a band.
>>
>> I remember years ago when I formed Barbone Street, we had no track 
>> record
>> of club dates and wanted to perform in jazz night clubs, like  in the
>> 1950s, before they all disappeared.
>>
>> So I decided to do a free "showcase" in Rehoboth Beach, a resort town 
>> 100
>> miles from our home base. Several things made me think it might be  a 
>> good
>> idea. (A showcase, for those who don't know, is where a bunch  of bands
>> perform for 20 minutes or so in front of event presenters,  club owners
>> etc.) It was in March.
>>
>> My rationale was that this is a resort town on the Atlantic Ocean with  a
>> bunch of clubs that present music all Summer. Plus they have a Jazz
>> Festival every October with some big timers. Plus, we did not have a  lot
>> of gigs when we started out. So I talked the guys into doing it  for no
>> pay, and subsidized their travel expenses by giving the vehicle  drivers
>> $50 and bought everyone dinner.
>>
>> They all bitched afterwards because they felt is was all for naught  and
>> there were only about 40 people in the audience. And there were  some
>> pretty bad acts there.
>>
>> What they didn't realize is that the Jazz Festival Folks were there,  as
>> well as Ms. Sydney Arzt who ran Sydney's Jazz Cafe, one of the 100  top
>> jazz venues in the USA at the time. She grabbed me and said keep  in
>> touch, I' love your band.
>>
>> The upshot was that, starting that summer, we got booked annually at
>> Sydney's for the weekend closest to Louis Armstrong's birthday for the
>> next 10 years or so. (until Sydney sold the place) Room and board for 
>> the
>> weekend, plus resort life, plus making good money for two nights.  Plus
>> performing before an adoring crowd of YOUNG people like you get  in 
>> Spain.
>>
>> We also got booked 4 times at the Rehoboth Autumn Jazz Festival, the 
>> only
>> Dixieland Band amongst smooth jazzers, singers (Alicia Keyes et  al),
>> made excellent money and received great audience support. Then  we got
>> booked twice at the Mid Delaware Jazz Festival, and 3 times at  the Dover
>> Downs Casino, and twice at the Dover Downs Jazz Festival,   and played
>> several private parties at beach homes, and two Republican  Gubernatorial
>> nominating conventions. Needless to say the band loved  it both 
>> musically,
>> and financially.
>>
>> It all happened because we played one free gig, 100 miles from home,  and
>> I was willing to bet a few bucks and a little time that the  investment
>> would pay off.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Steve Barbone
>> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>>
>> "I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is
>> being paid for it, and one is the feeling that I haven't just been
>> sitting on my ass all afternoon."
>> - William F. Buckley
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz
>> Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>>
>> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>>
>>
>>
>> Dixielandjazz mailing list
>> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:31:41 +0100
> From: "Hans en Corrie" <koerthchkz at zeelandnet.nl>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Django Reinhardt 100
> Message-ID: <A01E9B71B0B2462C834EBF0C399B579B at pchans>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Django Reinhardt Centennial (1910 - 2010)
>
> Django lives for ever:
> http://keepswinging.blogspot.com
>
> Hans
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:00:43 -0800
> From: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
> To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Kate Smith on new postage stamp
> Message-ID: <E66111CD72A64E7BA3E8C409411796A3 at hplap>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Kate Smith on new postage stamp
>
> Excerpt from USPS press release, December 30, 2009:
> With this 2010 stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors Kate Smith 
> (1907-1986), the
> celebrated singer and entertainer whose signature song, "God Bless 
> America" (composed
> for her by Irving Berlin), has been called America's unofficial national 
> anthem.
> The stamp will go on sale May 1. In a career that spanned almost five 
> decades, Smith
> recorded nearly 600 songs. At least 20 of her records sold more than a 
> million copies,
> including three religious albums. The stamp art duplicates artwork created 
> for the
> cover of a CD titled, "Kate Smith: The Songbird of the South." The artwork 
> was based
> on a photograph of Smith taken in the 1960s.
> http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_118.htm#kate
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> rsr at ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 916/806-9551
>
> Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm
>
> My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from 
> too much
> government.  -Thomas Jefferson
>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus 
> signature database 4772 (20100114) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:04:58 -0800
> From: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
> To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic
> University
> Message-ID: <13A0F058E6F545B384210751799E2600 at hplap>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University
>
> Donation of 60,000 Recordings a 'Rich Mother Lode' for Florida Atlantic 
> University's
> Judaica Archive
> by Lona O'Connor
> Palm Beach Post, December 29, 2009
> BOCA RATON -- The Judaica Sound Archive is accustomed to receiving large 
> donations
> of old recordings. But its latest bequest -- 10,000 records -- arrived in 
> an 18-wheel
> trailer truck.
> The 7-year-old musical archive, part of Florida Atlantic University's 
> library, has
> a lot of cataloging to do in the next few months, because another 
> 18-wheeler will
> arrive as soon as the snow melts. It will carry at least twice as many 
> recordings
> -- all from the late Jack Saul, a Cleveland furniture store owner whose 
> collection
> may have amounted to as many as 300,000 recordings at its peak.
> The Saul contribution will add about 60,000 recordings, including a few 
> unique examples,
> to the FAU archive, already one of the largest in the world.
> The sound archive is run by Nat Tinanoff and Maxine Schackman, who, aided 
> by tech-savvy
> volunteers and students, have made 10,000 songs from the archive's 
> collection available
> online to the public. The archive contains religious, folk and children's 
> music,
> theater and music-hall performances.
> A passionate collector, Saul filled his house, store and warehouse with 
> his collection,
> said Schackman.
> "After his wife read him the riot act, he gave away 200,000 recordings to 
> an organization.
> But they ended up selling it and he was infuriated."
> A cantor who donated part of his own collection to FAU told Saul about the 
> archive.
> Saul visited the FAU sound archive in February and assured himself that 
> his records
> would be in a good home.
> The Saul collection contained a few surprises, including a recording of 
> comedian
> and singer Fanny Brice (the subject of the "Funny Girl" movies) singing to 
> children,
> and a fantasy cantata about the Brooklyn Dodgers by renowned opera 
> baritone Robert
> Merrill.
> "The Jack Saul collection was a really rich mother lode of new and unique 
> recordings,"
> said Schackman.
> Saul, who died in May at age 86, loved Jewish music, but also specialized 
> in classical
> recordings made before 1900. He owned mint copies of every recording made 
> by the
> Cleveland Orchestra since 1924. He owned complete sets, autographed copies 
> and albums
> never taken out of their wrappers.
> Saul gave first pick to Tinanoff, who sorted through the records and 
> helped pack
> 700 boxes, which were delivered to FAU in September. Other recordings went 
> to the
> Library of Congress, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Guy Lombardo Society. 
> Saul's
> daughter kept a few sentimental favorites.
> Also in the Saul collection were non-Jewish music that will become a big 
> part of
> FAU's new collection of 78-rpm recordings, as well as about 500 records 
> that will
> be added to FAU's jazz collection. About 4,000 compact discs will be made 
> available
> for student use.
> Tinanoff estimates it will take five years to inventory the Saul 
> collection and welcomes
> volunteers with computer skills.
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> rsr at ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 916/806-9551
>
> Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm
>
> My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from 
> too much
> government.  -Thomas Jefferson
>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus 
> signature database 4772 (20100114) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:58:54 -0800
> From: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
> To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Birthdays Jan 23
> Message-ID: <4A226ECDD28A4A538B83436ECE14E42B at hplap>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> 1887: Percy Wenrich
> 1902: Benny Waters
> 1910: Django Reinhardt
> 1914: Teddy Napoleon
> 1933: Chita Rivera
> 1943: Gary Burton
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> rsr at ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 916/806-9551
>
> Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm
>
> My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from 
> too much
> government.  -Thomas Jefferson
>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus 
> signature database 4772 (20100114) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:52:54 -0800
> From: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
> To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Play About Ella
> Message-ID: <2E9DED8BD7454065A57C733A79A287B8 at hplap>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Kim Nalley interviewed
>
> Kim Nalley Swings Like Ella -- Sweet, but Subtle
> by Jesse Hamlin
> San Francisco Chronicle, December 30, 2009
>
> Listening to Ella Fitzgerald's beautiful voice -- pure, exuberant and 
> eternally fresh
> -- one might get the impression that the singer's life was as sunny as her 
> music.
> It wasn't.
> "She had a lot of terrible things happen to her, but she didn't talk about 
> it. She
> never complained," says Kim Nalley, the sensational San Francisco jazz 
> singer whose
> new musical play, "Ella: The American Dream," tells the story of the 
> homeless teenage
> hoofer who became America's most celebrated jazz vocalist. It opens 
> tonight at Petaluma's
> Cinnabar Theater.
> Unlike Nalley's one-woman Billie Holiday show, "The Heart of Lady Day," 
> this is a
> fully staged ensemble piece. It's set in the 1930s at Harlem's Savoy 
> Ballroom, where
> Fitzgerald rose to stardom with the ferociously swinging Chick Webb 
> Orchestra. One
> of the characters is Frankie Manning, king of the high-flying Lindy Hop 
> dancers,
> portrayed by Kevin Munroe.
> Playing Holiday, whose painful life is as well known as her music, was 
> easier than
> bringing forth the upbeat, reticent Fitzgerald, Nalley says.
> "Dramatically, it's a challenge," says Nalley, a forthright and funny 
> woman. "Ella
> is a more subtle character than Billie. She didn't reveal as much." And 
> vocally,
> "Ella is just so good! She's got a huge range, she's going for it all the 
> time, she's
> improvising all the time, she never hits a wrong note. This is hard, 
> especially when
> you have to scat chorus after chorus and every chorus has to be fresh. 
> When Ella
> scats, it's like a stream of consciousness, melodies coming out of 
> nowhere."
> Nalley pours out a couple of dazzling phrases to demonstrate. She's 
> sitting at the
> dining room table of the Nob Hill apartment she shares with her husband, 
> computer
> programmer Mike Lewis, for whom she's converting to Judaism. There's a 
> Christmas
> wreath on the front door and menorahs on the shelves. The room is lined 
> with framed
> photos of Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and other jazz stars. 
> Dancer-choreographer
> Robert Henry Johnson sits across the table, helping Nalley make the final 
> tweaks
> in her "Ella" script.
> Johnson plays Webb, the brilliant hunchbacked drummer who led one of the 
> greatest
> bands of the swing era. Webb became Fitzgerald's surrogate father, taking 
> the 16-year-old
> songbird under his wing and nurturing her extraordinary gifts. He'd seen 
> her at the
> Apollo Theater, where Fitzgerald -- who was homeless and dancing for coins 
> on the
> streets of Harlem -- took first prize in the weekly amateur contest. She 
> was going
> to dance until she saw the dance act that preceded her. Instead, she 
> decided to sing.
> Nalley, who has a history degree from UC Berkeley, does extensive research 
> for her
> shows and insists on getting the facts right. Reading Stuart Nicholson's 
> incisive
> 1994 Fitzgerald biography, and later revelations in the New York Times, 
> she learned
> that the teenage Fitzgerald had been abused by her stepfather and the male 
> guards
> at the Yonkers reform school where she did time after being busted for 
> running numbers.
> Breaking out of the joint, she ran away to Manhattan, where she lived on 
> the streets
> until her luck changed.
> "Ella didn't like to talk about this stuff. She masked it," says Nalley, 
> who invented
> some of the dialogue but used direct quotes from the characters whenever 
> possible.
> "She personified hope and happiness. The way I constructed the play, you 
> find out
> about this stuff in a very nuanced way. It's like peeling an onion away."
> Focusing on Fitzgerald's early success, Nalley sings the songs that 
> Fitzgerald sang
> at the Savoy, including her classic "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," "Undecided" and 
> "Object
> of My Affection," whose version by Alfalfa from the Little Rascals "I'm 
> going to
> try very hard to get out of my head," Nalley laughs. She also foreshadows 
> Webb's
> death in 1939. Before he died, he turned the band over to Fitzgerald, an 
> unprecedented
> move in the male-dominated jazz world.
> One of the biggest challenges, Nalley says, is to get people to see Ella 
> as the trim,
> pretty young girl she was in 1934, "not the Ella Fitzgerald they know from 
> the 1960s:
> overweight, with that frumpy Italian housewife's gown, a bad wig, owl 
> glasses and
> a handkerchief. They hear a young voice, but what they see is Ella on 'The 
> Dean Martin
> Show,' or doing a Memorex commercial. That era is boring. I want to give 
> them the
> exciting era. I love the Chick Webb period. It's smoldering hot, joyous 
> music. People
> don't know Ella's story, and they should."
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> rsr at ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 916/806-9551
>
> Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm
>
> My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from 
> too much
> government.  -Thomas Jefferson
>
>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus 
> signature database 4772 (20100114) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:17:36 -0500
> From: "Jerry Gordon" <jerrygordon at juno.com>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] test-please delete
> Message-ID: <000601ca9c4f$f64de550$e2e9aff0$@com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> test
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:43:47 -0500
> From: Stephen G Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Playing for nothing
> Message-ID: <165C19E2-4BE6-4865-8E20-70C5365F0C30 at earthlink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> On Jan 23, 2010, at 1:03 AM, Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis
> wrote:
>
>> Steve and Jim
>> If you make a business decision to play free that's up to you like
>> buying advertising.  Sometimes you might luck out and apparently you
>> did Steve.
>>
>> Unfortunately this is the line that is used so often to lure
>> musicians to play for free.  Young bands fall for this all the
>> time.  A lot of the time they end up actually paying.
>>
>> My Brother in law when he was about 17 was in a pretty good band.  A
>> local church had a battle of the bands.  The entry fee was $50 for
>> each band. There were 4 bands.  The prize for the best band was $200
>> (DUH!)  The band lost their money... played for an hour... got no
>> more jobs.... the church made out like bandits with the door and
>> sales of cokes etc.
>>
>> A business decision is OK if there is a real chance to get work from
>> it. This is usually a sucker play.  After a band gets burned a
>> couple of times they learn.
>>
>> I think the difference is who asks you to play.  If they ask then
>> look out.... If you ask then you retain control.
>>
>> Before I asked anyone in my band to play free I would have to have
>> everyone agree and that means everyone including me.
>>
>> I am right now considering a concert at a church.  I am fronting the
>> money for the band.  If the gate exceeds the cost of the band then
>> the church makes money and I get my front money back and maybe the
>> church will start a concert series.  I have seen others do it and be
>> successful.  The worst thing that will happen is I will lose a
>> couple hundred bucks but I stand to gain too.  In any event the
>> members of the band will get paid.  I just don't believe in having
>> guys work and not get something.  I'm the boss and I take the risk
>> not the guys.
>>
>> The only reason why I'm doing this is because the Priest is not a
>> businessman and is overly cautious.  If it makes money he will be a
>> whole lot more receptive to live music in the future.  I have little
>> doubt that it will make money and when it does I can persuade other
>> groups to play.
>>
>> Music in some ways is like farming.... you have to plant some seeds
>> before you can harvest anything.
>>
>> I would caution anyone who has the urge to play for free to step
>> back and try to think it out in a businesslike way and ask:  Am I
>> likely to get work from this.  If the answer is only a forlorn maybe
>> then don't do it.
>>
>> Free is the best price in the world.
>
> I agree, Larry, freebies are usually bad. However "luck" had nothing
> to do with it in my case. It was just plain smart marketing. I was
> pretty sure we would get some high paying work from it. Speaking of
> Luck, I don't think we are "lucky" to have so many gigs but rather,
> good businessmen who know how to market our product.
>
> In your church case, I wouldn't play free given the circumstances you
> describe and the condition  of the Churches in my territory. Three
> reasons, first because churches have enough money to pay bands. (We do
> about 10 or so Church gigs a year), second, in the case you describe,
> you might get one extra gig from them by playing free and third, I
> haven't yet found a way to successfully market to venues that have no
> music now. Not worth it in my estimate of risk vs. reward. And I
> remember well that the only time I ever got stiffed for a gig, it was
> by a CHURCH. (shorted me by $300)
>
> Regarding paying a fee to play for possible prize money, I'm with you,
> definitely a no-no, usually a scam.
>
> Like I said, if it makes Marketing sense, do it. If it doesn't don't
> do it.
>
> Or if, for example,  I lived/played in Austin TX I would try my best
> to play at South by Southwest, (even if it meant playing free) in
> order to generate a young following. However, I would not recommend
> that other Dixieland bands do that kind of thing as IMO most of them
> neither tailor their music to young audiences, nor seek to market to
> young audiences and therefore would not be likely to generate a young
> following. Thus playing free there for them, would be pointless.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of Dixielandjazz Digest, Vol 85, Issue 42
> *********************************************