[Dixielandjazz] Woody Allen - Part Two

[Stephen G Barbone]

Money is what drives most "professional" musicians Judie. Most of us  
follow the money. Simple as that. To say we all do it because it's fun  
is a huge myth. Most of us are trying to make a living and will take  
any gig we can if it pays. Those who don't care about the money, do it  
because it's fun, or they love it, are mostly hobby musicians and/or  
amateurs. Not the professionals who have to make a living.

Would I hire a musician who played like Woody, but was not Woody. Of  
course not.

Would I hire Woody? Of course.

We're beating a dead horse here. We both agree about his musicianship.  
The article agrees with us that people go to see HIM first, the music  
second. Woody says he is not a good musician. So what are we arguing  
about?

Simply that you felt cheated when you went to see him play. My point  
is simple. With all the Woody Allen on you tube, you didn't go there  
to do your homework. You relied instead on a DVD of his European Tour  
which would have been heavily edited to showcase his best moments,  
much like the any studio edits out, or fixes the bad parts of CDs  
these days. We've discussed this type of "editing" many times on the  
DJML. Most of us (not me) agree that it should be done. I feel it  
tends to misrepresent what the band sounds like in real time  
performance. And that some folks will be pissed when the band and/or  
musician in a live performance doesn't sound like the CD (or DVD)

You have talked with many musicians who played with him in various  
venues. Did they lie to you about his expertise?

You resent his being "paid" to perform. What? HE is the reason all  
those people pay big money to see the band. HE fills up the Club  
Carlyle. HE filled the Opera Houses of Europe on his tour and the  
concert halls in the USA when he tours here. People fall all over  
themselves to pay big money see HIM and the band.

Yet you say; "to go down that low and still be paid to perform, is  
very sad." Where is the logic in that? The man draws a high paying  
crowd where ever he plays and you say it is very sad to go down that  
low? To me what is sad is the bands that play OKOM on the cheap, or  
for nothing.

Let's face it, even with 35 years of experience listening to OKOM and  
having educated ears, you did not do your homework on Woody Allen.  
Shame on you not him.

For those who wish to get educated about how Woody plays, and what  
people think of him, go to you tube and see him warts and all on MANY  
live visuals. Then read the comments. Some folks like him, some folks  
hate him which is what I said when I posted that very fine Village  
Voice Article on Norman Vickers' jazz chat list. Judie took a  
paragraph from it, out of context, and responded to it on the DJML 2  
days before it had been posted here. That caused a little confusion  
and prompted Eddy's request to let people see the entire article.

That article speaks for itself.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband



On Jun 4, 2010, at 10:10 PM, JBruno868 at aol.com wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 6/4/2010 5:33:32 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, barbonestreet at earthlink.net 
>  writes:
> You built up a false set of expectations about the man, expecting  
> perhaps the second coming of Johnny Dodds.
>
> No there you are wrong Steve. My expatiations came from watching his  
> video of his tour in Europe when an old friend of mine was playing  
> trombone with him. Had he played to at least that level I would have  
> been OK but he did not, what 3-5 years later. I forget now when I  
> saw the video. I might also had thought he would have improved since  
> his tour but instead, he was very much worse. If you say any  
> musician can have a bad night, that I agree with but to go down that  
> low and still be paid to perform, is very sad.
>
> I have said it was a very sad disappointment. It wasn't a matter so  
> much of the money but I had bought the tickets for my mom for  
> Christmas as her gift and we were both looking forward to the  
> evening. I would have been just as disappointed had I paid $10 to  
> see him and would have walked or rolled in my case out just as  
> quickly. It may very well be that my hearing is over sensitive but I  
> have never walked out on a band before because I couldn't stand the  
> sound and that includes a lot of bands playing OKOM. After attending  
> Jazz Festivals, concerts, practice gigs, Jazz Clubs, etc for over 35  
> years now, I have heard a lot of bands. Some good and some not so  
> good but none as bad as this one player or the sound that came out  
> of his horn and who got paid to play and should be sent to the  
> practice room of any Jazz Club before playing in public. In my  
> opinion again of course. I am happy that the musician he hires are  
> getting good pay to play with him and I have talked to more than a  
> few and they all say "It's the money" because it's sure not the  
> music or the fun of it when they tour or play with Woody. Now, this  
> is not just my opinion but the same as those who play with him so I  
> feel I'm on pretty good ground here with this opinion.
>
> Let me ask again, if he were anyone else but Woody Allen, a no body  
> you had never met before, would any band leader here, hire him after  
> listening to him play?
>