[Dixielandjazz] EXCERPTS FROM MAY 2011 BLUE NOTE

[Bob Brodsky]

THE 'BLUE NOTE' OF THE SOUTH BAY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ CLUB- excerpts from May 2011 issue



SBNOJC meets 2nd Sunday Monthly 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. Knights of Columbus Hall 

214 Avenue “I”, Redondo Beach, Ca 90277    - 310 397 6616


                              OKOM FANS:  
HERE ARE EXCERPTS FROMTHE MAY "BLUE NOTE"

- THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTH BAY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ CLUB - REDONDO BEACH


PROGRAM

MAY 8, 2011
RICHARD SIMON'S   JAZZ AMERICA

JUNE 12, 2011
ALAN SHELTON'S    ROYAL GARDEN DIXIELAND  BAND

JULY 10
JAZZ HOLIDAY BAND
        SARDO'S



JAZZ AMERICA WILL BE OUR FEATURE GROUP IN MAY
 
Jazz Americais a programwhich selects young talent each yearandintroduces these young people to the jazz idiom. They aretutored and guided into performance groups by Richard Simonandhis associates. They write or select suitable material for thegroup to learn in order to present live performances. JazzAmerica is always a delightto be included by our club. Enjoy!
 
ALSO IN MAY:                                                        •16th Serenade for Mouldy Figges -
                                                              Bob Brodsky, SBNOJCBoard member, presents thesecond
                                                              installment of his lectures featuring a slide / narration / music
                                                               show about DixielandJazz. Please join Bob, May 31, 6 – 8pm,
                                                               at the Redondo Beach Main Library to get an inside view of
                                                               Dixieland Jazz.
 


APRIL 2011  FEATURE BAND -   THE PRESIDENT’S JAZZ BAND
 
Paul Goldmangathered together excellent musicians for the Aprilfeature set.  With CJ Sams help they made an appearanceon the previousFriday night at Curley’s on Signal Hill. Coming off thatverysuccessful performance they continued as feature band
at the SBNOJC meeting on April 10th. The bandsmenwere: Paul Goldman- leader and drums, CJ Sams - cornet and vocals, MikeStubbs - trombone,Kurt Feistinger - clarinet,Roberto Pasquariello - piano and Tom Pendergast - banjo.Wow! they were exciting,entertaining and enthusiastic - all in all a great set for the SBNOJCmeeting, Hope that Paul and his president’s group will repeat soon.
 
                                                                                         MUSICIANS  APRIL 2011
 
SBNOJC was fortunateto have the following musicians in AprilBarry Anthony, CJ Sams, Larry Cosgrove, Pete Dawson. Ted desPlantes, 

Bob Downum, Kurt Feistinger, Paul Goldman, Jimmy Green,Judi Haase, Pete Kier, Tom Man, Gene Marklevitz Bill Mitchell, JohnNorton, 

Roberto Pasquariello, Tom Pendergast, Jerry Rothschild, LuisSchellaci, Mike Stubbs, Richard Tucker, Bob White, Norm Witt.
 
 
 
                                                                              
                                    From The PRESIDENT
 
Tell a Friend!!
 
Did you ever want to be a product spokesman? Sell an idea? Pitcha product? You can you know and it’s very easy. Just tell a friend about the South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club. Tell them about themusic that the club is sustaining. Tell them about the once amonth social, the musicians and the music. Also, don’t forget tomention dancing and refreshments.
 
Don’t keep this to yourself.Tell your friends, next door neighborsandanyone that will listen. When they ask you “what are youdoing the second Sunday of the month,” you can pitch theSBNOJC product. We need to acquaint more people to this type
of music. Better yet, bring a friend. In fact bring two friends. If wecanincrease our membership by at least one new member a month, our club will continue to be able to bring to you great musicians,superb Dixieland jazz and a great place to have a fun Sunday.
 
Remember,it’s you that keep our club going. Without yoursupport the musicians would be playing to an empty room. Don’tletthis happen. Be a spokesman, sell the product, tell a friend and bring a Friend.(from article, March 2009)
 
Let’s keep Jazz alive in the South Bay
 
 
Condolences
 
Our condolences and sympathy go out to Robert Allen, SBNOJCBoard Member, for the recent loss of his partner and wife, JenniferCartwright, who recently passed away.
 
 
 
Paul Goldman– President
 
 
                                 OUR KIND OF MUSIC DEFINED
 
                                   By BobBrodsky, from his book “The World in a Jug” – Amazon.com/ books
 
          OKOM is like the  proverbial secret  fraternity grip: Those who recognize  the expression, know  what it  stands for; Those who don’t are in the same dilemmaas “If you have to ask how much it is, you can’t afford it.”            
But now, learn it here!“OKOM is small band music, generallyplayed without reading  music - i.e. it is improvised - and each ‘evergreen’number is never really played the same each time. The bandconsists of a ‘front line’ consisting of the leader,whose trumpet or cornet carries the tune; a trombone which fills inspaces and plays back ground; and a clarinet (or a straight soprano saxophone) which ‘noodles around; plus a ‘rhythm section’ which can have combinations of drums, string bassor  tuba,  guitar  or banjo,  and a piano. Noneof theseinstruments are everattached  to an amplifierby an electriccord. I considera band that has more than seven musicianstobe in  questionable taste. The musical style is either ‘twobeat’(one TWO, one  TWO) as in Dixieland or 4-beat (one,twoTHREE, four, i.e.) as in New  Orleans style.The tunes played must be  from the “100 favorites”  (don’t take this number too  literally)listing of ‘evergreens’. As the years went by,theaccepted list increased; “When the Saints Go Marching In”  being the  most trite relative newcomer, forexample. You have to pay extra to bribe  the PreservationHall  band  to play  it - that’s how  trite it  is! Sometimespopular  ballads, such  as “One  Sweet Letter  From You”,which  Bunk  introduced  to the repertoire in the 40’s, are added  to the acceptable ‘100’ – but this is unusual. Later, I’ll make a listing of the evergreens(it’s in the book), but it surely won’t be inclusive, nor  be the  ne  plus ultra. 
The styles  of traditional music differ somewhat –  but both  are OKOM:NewOrleans style consists mostly of ensemble music for thewhole  tune, with occasional  short  instrument ‘breaks’.  It thus demands listener concentration and is the more cerebral and soulful of thetwo.It also encompasses the  Blues, a specialized musical form. But these days, if you see Blackmusicians playing the New Orleans style that they invented (except at Preservation Hall), you figure you are in a TimeWarp. Dixieland is happy, toe-tapping, music which you feel  rather than think about. It’s easier to absorb but its ‘highs’are  not  as  high  or  savage.  Dixie  consists of  ensembleplaying,  followed  by individual frontline solos, one  after another, and sometimesrhythm instrument solos –especially if there is a piano, and again ending  with ensemble. Bothstyles  are formulaic – if you run into something  else, youquestion  whether  it’s  OKOM. If you  ever hear  a  BlackDixieland band these days, you should immediately get your eyes  examined!  And  to  my mind,  if there’s  a  tenor sax lurking  anywhere nearby, you  walk away  and get  yourcover charge  back– but that’s VERY personal. 
There are a few more edifying remarksto  make. In the beginningthere were  mighty White bands  (for example, the New OrleansRhythm  Kings, headed  up by  cornetist Paul Mares) whoplayed New Orleansstyle. And a little later, Wingy Manone and Sharkey Bonanno  formed great bands in the CrescentCity. This traditioncontinued,  mightilybuoyed  up  by thewonderful  San  Francisco style  of the  Lu  Watters  Yerba Buena  Jazz Band.  They  emulated  what  is probably  thegreatest band of all time, the Oliver-Armstrong Creole Jazz Band,  and  their   front  line, including  Watters  and  Bob Scobey  on cornet  and Turk  Murphy on  Trombone weresuperb.  Today, The  Titanic  Jazz Band  of   Costa Mesa, California/ aka, sometimes with personnel changes,  as theSouth FriscoJB,  carries on this tradition.     
Dixieland,  99% owned by White musiciansnow, may have started with the Whiteband that  took  NewYork  by  storm in 1917: ‘TheOriginal Dixieland Jass Band’, but their style sort of  defiescharacterization.  My  feeling is  that what  is now  calledDixieland was really developed in the Midwest by Bix and the AustinHigh Gang of Chicago (Muggsy Spanier, JimmyMcParland,  etc.).  Its authentic  branch is  ‘San Francisco  Style’ jazz,  where ensemble  playing is  the main  feature. Another, less enjoyable in my opinion, branch of Dixielandmusic can be called “New York Style”; organized mainly byguitarist Eddie Condon  (typically, Max Kaminsky, Pee WeeRussell, Brad Gowans,although  in the  revival of the ‘40-50s, top flight Black musicians participatedin force). They were the villains who introducedthe tired formulaof opening up in ensemble, and then – one-by-one, every time– the 4 or 8-bar individual instrumental solos, usually always in the same order and including– for God’s sake! – drum solos! OK, I’ve vented my spleen!
 
            There – that should do it. Don’t be confused by what is nowcalled ‘mainstream’ jazz. This is the modern version of swingmusic as was played by small groups broken out from the bigswing bands. My simile for it is ‘chamber music with a beat’. For example, think of Goodman’s small group featuring theBadman  himself,  Teddy Wilson  on piano,  maybe  Ziggy Elman on trumpet,Lionel Hampton on  vibes, and Charlie Christian on  electricguitar  playing “Lady Be Good”  – anon“100”  number. The ‘mainstreamers’ almost never havea full traditional  front  line and lean towards  pianos and saxophones/clarinets  and  trumpets,with  amplified rhythm. Their music  is very good and can  swing mightily –  but it isn’t OKOM! 
            So, how do you gofrom being merely a memberofthe OKOM society to a full-fledged bloody  Moldy Fig,suchas me? Well, first of all youproclaim yourself the purest of the purists, and don’t abide by anythingmusical that isnon-traditional, i.e. hear no evil. You declare open warfare on the  dreaded honking  saxophone and  any other  non-traditional instrument  or band  compositions. But,  you  domake some specific allowances. You allow that it was OK for King Oliver to add a second horn, as long as it was Louie,and  abide by Lu Wattersadding Bob Scobey’s  horn, since they     wereemulating the King’s Creole Band. You grudginglyallow a soprano saxophone in placeof a clarinet so long as it is played by an ace such as Sidney Bechet. Youagree that although it wasn’t orthodox, theBechet/Ladnier band, with Mezz Mezzrow on clarinetand no trombone, wasone  of the  most exciting  bands ever. And,  finally, you tolerate – and  probably enjoy - corny peculiarities, like theFirehouse  Five’s  use   ofsirens  and whistles,andthe Hyperion Outfall Serenaders(Manhattan Beach, California’s official band)washboard thimbling. Yes, they’reall OKOM!
 
 
                    BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
President               Paul Goldman               310 293 2910
& Blue Note Assist.           goldperson51 at yahoo.com
Vice President               Jerry Goodman               310 320 0009
Treasurer               Anita Gold               949 770 4690
Secretary               Bob Brodsky               310 937 1811
& Historian          rfoxbro at aol.com
Blue Note Editor               Pete Kier               310 397 6616
& Music Director          petekier at aol.com
 
  
  
Assist. Music Dir.
  
  
  
Earl Newton
  
  
  
310 829 9789
  
 
 
  
  
General Consultant
  
  
  
Bob Allen
  
  
  
323 291 5686
  
 
 
  
  
Publicity & Promo
  
  
  
Bob White
  
  
  
310 376 2591
  
 
 
  
  
Raffle Tickets
  
  
  
Yvonne Mitchell
  
  
  
714 528 1534
  
 
 
  
  
Snack Table
  
  
  
Polly Goodman
  
  
  
310 320 0009
  
 
 
  
  
(Past President)
  
  
  
Larry Cosgrove
  
  
  
310 645 9361
  
 
 
  
  
Raffle Prizes
  
  
  
Ann Norton
  
  
  
310 831 3525