[Dixielandjazz] OzOd ~ Where Am I?

Graham Martin grahmartin at bigpond.com
Fri Mar 26 19:34:28 PDT 2010


Gees Richard,

I am horrified that you think Australian bands play two-beat tuba jazz. The acoustic string bass is by far the most used bass instrument and you even see more electric basses than brass ones. You will really have to tell us which specific bands you have been hearing, and I'll give you some better suggestions.

For the last six years I have been living back in Brisbane and, unlike the rest of Australia, Queensland does not have daylight saving. That puts us an hour behind the rest of Australia and the common joke is that this is the understatement of the century. But even here in backward Queensland we have great string bass players dominating the scene - for instance: Derek Capewell and Ian Cocking - although, come to think of it, they both play tuba - but not often.

I am saying all of this hoping desperately that my good mate Nikola Shaw does not read it. I must admit that Nikola and her tuba have injected themselves into the festival scene in the last few years. Nikola is a very popular addition bopping around in the rhythm section at the back of the band. Nikola is a superb brass player and if you don't like her two-beat influence she is quite happy to play four-in-the-bar walking bass lines on her tuba. Actually, I prefer her trombone playing and we have a band together using a three-piece trombone frontline and called 'Bling Bones'. We use an electric bass (Eeek!) in the rhythm section. 

There is still a small Yerba Buena influence in Australian jazz but it has mainly died out and Condon-style, British trad or mainstream influences are much more common. I am a Pom myself and I never ever saw a band with a tuba during those crazy years of the British trad boom.

Four-beat jazz forever! Even in Australia. Blame tubas on those west coast American types.

Grah      

Graham Martin
REDLAND BAY
Queensland
AUSTRALIA

-----Original Message-----
From: richard.flecknell at ntlworld.com [mailto:richard.flecknell at ntlworld.com] 
Sent: Saturday, 27 March 2010 4:30 AM
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] OzOd ~ Where Am I?

Good Afternoon,


Just heard a band on an ozjazzpod and it sounded like an Ozband but it wasn't ~ it was those damn Firemen on San Antonio Rose.  They crept up on me!

I feel wobbly pass the smelling salts I've overdosed on 2 beat tuba jazz.

If that weren't bad enough I had the double size Dixieland band of Pete Fountain to deal with.  

All this followed an interview where Artie Shaw describes the impact of Armstrong's Savoy Blues solo.  Where did it all go wrong?

In need of some Buck, Red, Roy, Lester ...... some Kid Thomas should bring me round.

Richard OzOd Log ... those vintage OzOriginals are hard to track down.

Where's Jack & Bill when I need them  ~ bxxxxx Time Zones.  Add 2 xx it should read blinking!

Is it true that the Tuba was introduced into Australia to control the native Accordion. 



 

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