[Dixielandjazz] Fine for rabble rousing,

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Don et al,

Don's assertion that spot penalties are warranted for the Jazz Police's offence of Rabble Rousing reminds me that the Humphrey Lyttelton band used to employ the soccer referees' card system (yellow for a caution, red for dismissal, 2 yellows = a red) for tasteless, inappropriate or excessive use of musical quotations in solos. Itr was done in jest, of course, but more than one member of Humph's band has told me that it was a useful way of discouraging soloists from using quotes as fillers (like endless use of "you know", "like", "umm" in speech when the brain is lagging behind the tongue), and it encouraged soloists to dig deeper, play more creatively and avoid cliches.

Penalties could also be varied according to local requirements. For instance, in especially extreme cases, if a death penalty is justified, offenders in Austria could be sentenced to Death by Yodelling, or in Wales to Death by Male Voice Choir, or in Scotland to Death by Fiddlers' Rally, which is usually a vast orchestra of a hundred or more fiddlers of varying capabilities all playing the melody of a traditional tune almost in unison. For less extreme offences, offenders could simply be towed and reclaimed from a pound in a run-down and dangerous part of town by the bandleader if he felt it was worth paying the fine.

Cheers,

Ken Mathieson
www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk