[Dixielandjazz] Some information about West Coast styles and players

[Marvin Ipswich]

I remember having a discussion some years ago at the festival in Haugesund,
Norway, with members of an English trad band. The talk was about "West Coast
style," using the term in a generalized way to refer to Lu Watters, Turk
Murphy et. al. My comment was "West Coast style - which one do you mean? The
bands in LA in the 1920s and 1930s like Paul Howard, Les Hite, Gus Arnheim,
Jimmy Grier - or the so-called revivalist bands, Watters, Murphy, Scobey, or
the so-called 'Cool Jazz' of people like Chet Baker and Art Pepper?"
Unfortunately to many "West Coast" just means the San Francisco musicians.
The fact is, there was a lot of different styles of jazz being played on the
Left Coast starting with New Orleans musicians visiting there before 1920.

But I digress. Give a listen to the earliest recordings of Lu Watters, from
the 1920s, where he plays a Red Nichols-inspired style. Also listen to the
earliest records of Wild Bill Davison, where he plays more of a Bix-inspired
style (with the Chubb-Steinberg Orchestra).

It's unfortunate that players get pigeon-holed just like styles do. People
change over time and so do players. For example, clarinetist/saxophonist Bob
Helm sat in with Lester Young at the Reno Club in the 1930s, but still Bob
is still referred to as a "West Coast" traditional musician when, in fact,
he could fit in (as a good musician will) in almost any context.

Regards,
Marvin