[Dixielandjazz] Song History was The Chant is Not Dixieland

[Stephen G Barbone]

> "Jim Kashishian" <jim at kashprod.com> wrote: (polite snip)
>
>
> Marvin continues:
>> I personally find it interesting when the band leader tells a little
> information about the number being played, other than just the title.
>
> Ah, but don't forget this music is played around the world.  Our  
> normal
> audience is made up of people from maybe a half dozen different  
> countries
> and different languages, so lengthy explanations are not part of our  
> show.
>
> Since our band is primarily made up of Spaniards (myself being the  
> only
> foreigner) & we've been based in Madrid for 44 yrs, I speak to the  
> audience
> in Spanish.  Aside from the different languages & cultures of our  
> audiences,
> the folks are mostly not particularly into jazz, and I'm just happy  
> to see
> them enjoy it live & purchase our cd's.
>
> Their education begins with their enjoyment during our performance.   
> Their
> enlightment will follow if they find it at all interesting.
>
> I'm surprised that no one has chimed in on this subject to say the  
> very
> obvious:  that the tunes played by the original jazz bands in New  
> Orleans
> were popular tunes of the day, and were not labeled at all.   
> However, over
> the years, some tunes have grown to be recognized as being in the
> Dixieland/New Orleans style.

Amen Jim:

This music is played to a wide variety of audiences here in the USA as  
well. While Marvin and the majority of the "older" crowd may enjoy the  
history of a song, rest assured that most of the jazz challenged  
(those who are not specific OKOM fans) don't want to hear the  
historical clap trap.

Young people in the USA in my experience, are interested in the  
"message". And they want to be a part of the show. That's how they  
enjoy the event. At our elementary school, high school, college gigs  
the audience knows virtually nothing about OKOM. And it is an  
impossible task to teach them what took us old farts a lifetime to  
learn, during a short musical performance. We concentrate on making  
the music and the experience enjoyable for them.

Point being, bands must tailor their presentations to their audiences  
in order to maximize audience communication and enjoyment.

One point of discussion about early jazz labeling. Perhaps they were  
labeled with the word: FOXTROT clearly imprinted on the record label?  
<grin>

Cheers,

Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband