[Dixielandjazz] 1919/Rifle Rangers/The Rifle Range

John Gill smokewagon at yahoo.com
Tue May 3 11:56:39 PDT 2011


Hello
Thanks to Roy Bud Taylor for the good lead on "The Rifle Range" by Harry Lincoln.
I did see the first page of the tune, and it seems to be yet another tune. It's written
in 6/8 time and at least the first strain is not the same as 1919 Rag. Harry Lincoln was 
a prolific writer and I think he wrote some rags too.
As for Turk Murphy's comments about 1919 Rag being a French or Belgian March. Well
he just said that as a possible clue to the origins of the tune, not as a fact. He said the same thing
about "High Society" which we now know was written in New York City by Porter Steele in the 
early 1900's. When Turk and the other revivalists started digging up and performing older jazz tunes
they did not always have sheet music or a record to go by. In the case of 1919 Rag, Turk picked it up from
Kid Ory and Ory said it was some tune he played in New Orleans when he was a kid and that he didn't know the real title.
It could have come from Europe, but it does sound very American.
John Gill


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