[Dixielandjazz] stirring the pot

[Jim Kashishian]

I recall that when I first joined djml at the very beginning of its
existence I was shocked to hear that the word "Dixieland" had taken on
something of a dirty word meaning to some.  One member actually left djml
out of hatred over the word.  And, of course, it is part of the title of
this list!  I'm not really sure how he managed to join in the first place!
 
I moved to Madrid in1966, and don't recall any bad feelings about the word
then in the U.S.  I was literally out of contact completely through the
"Franco" years, and not much better off than that up until the discovery of
this list when I first went "on-line".  So, the sudden appearance of such
hatred seemed strange.  Of course, many of the things I say in English are
some 45 yrs out of date, so I run into these PC moments quite often.
 
Strictly out of luck, we named our band a "Jazz Band" instead of a
"Dixieland" band, not that it would have made much difference to the people
who hear us.  I say that as our list of songs goes way past that period, and
although we might include a number of recognized Dixieland songs in a single
night, we also work our way right up to the late 1960's with some songs.  We
also have some multicolored vests & bow ties which we use for private
parties & big functions, which fortunately carry no overtones to anyone
other than just being very colorful & gay.  (Ya see...my wife says I can't
say "gay" anymore!)
 
I do think it is a shame that some would attach nothing more than "bad tempo
bands & straw hats" to a single word, which really does mean many other
things to many other people.
 
Jim