[Dixielandjazz] FW: Beth's remark......

[Jim Kashishian]

Beth wrote:
>Aye - there's the rub. The joints you play at. If only we had jazz joints
like that here.

Yep! You need the lure of dinner out, then a bit of jazz, or other live
music, and that just doesn't seem to exist any longer in most parts of the
U.S.  That's why I mentioned in an earlier post that it is a shame that you
no longer at least have the "pizza parlor" atmosphere that existed there in
the 1960's!

I would think a jazz "society" would draw a bigger crowd by making a deal at
a coffee shop or restaurant than at a "closed hall" sort of place.

>Same thing for festivals. 

We've only done one festival in our many years of playing together (43
now!).  That was in Dresden, with the festival taking over the complete
town.  That was the year before the Wall came down, and the folks in the
East were thrilled to be out on the streets having unconstrained fun.  We
had 10,000 people at one concert.  (We wouldn't play until they all chanted
"Buenos Dias" back to us, and then were congratulated with a 10,000 strong
"Ole" at the end of each song!  Great fun!)

>And the other thing you said... every night of the week! 

Yep!  We just finished a week in one club, and are now in another week at
another...with 15 gigs in total this month.  

>Blues - that's a different story. I can find multiple places to hear the
blues here any night of the week. But it all sounds so much the same to me
after a while! (Don't some people say that about trad?)

Yes, I often think the same about the blues bands then remember what is said
about our music!
If a band chooses the set well, different keys, different tempos, add in a
few songs with special breaks or special solos, it doesn't have to sound the
same.  

Jim