[Dixielandjazz] Eddie Miller Solo on South Rampart

[Stephen G Barbone]

> "Robert Newman" <bobngaye at surewest.net>
>
> One time I told Eddie I loved his solo on SRSP so much I copied it  
> note for
> note and memorized it and always played it.   He kind of sneered at  
> me and
> said, "I HATED THAT SOLO.   Bobby wrote it for me and I had to play  
> it every
> time we played South Rampart."
>
> I was shocked.  It's true.   He did play it the same every time with  
> the
> Crosby band.

Dear Bob:

Funny how that works out.  Many's the time someone has come up to a  
player and admired a solo or passage that the player really dislikes,  
or considers ordinary.

Kind of like a lot of "export porcelain" so admired by collectors and  
museums. Much of it produced exclusively for export to Europe and  
America, was considered inferior in quality and design by the Chinese  
who produced it. They exported what they considered unworthy and kept  
the good stuff for themselves.

No doubt, if you've ever held a high note on the clarinet, you have  
had folks in the audience cheer, or come up afterwards and tell you  
how much they liked it. (Extreme example)

Also on the other hand, I'm sure we've played what we thought were  
great solos and had absolutely no reaction from the audience after them.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband