[Dixielandjazz] Black vs. white music - was Bechet

[Stephen G Barbone]

> Bert Brandsma <mister_bertje at hotmail.com> wrote"
>
>
> Bart,
> In a way I used to agree with what you state here, but I do not 100%  
> stand behind this vision anymore nowadays.Players like Beiderbecke,  
> Adrian Rollini, Jack Teagarden brought something new to the music,  
> and were creatively as capable as any of the black musicians of  
> their days.
> Take for instance the famous recording of Copenhagen by Fletcher  
> Henderson, with Louis on trumpet, it is great, but Bix did it before.
> Rollini was also very unique, what player can you mention that  
> played more creative, swinging and original bass lines then he on  
> his bass saxophone? He was an inspiration even to Coleman Hawkins on  
> his tenor.
> Then there was in Jack Teagarden days no other trombone player  
> regardless of skin color, that was such an original improvisor.
> Another example is the Benny Goodman big band. What the trumpet  
> section is offering at 1938 Carnegy hall, I mean the first concert,  
> there was no other section at that time that could match it.
> Also listen to Oh, Lady be Good, the video version of Artie Shaw  
> with Buddy Rich on drums (see dailymotion) , it even outswings the  
> early Basie band in it's heyday!
> That is not to deny that to my ears the biggest figures in jazz  
> history are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, but  
> stating that only black jazz is good/original and white players only  
> do a cheaper imitation is unfair.


I'm with you Bert. Numerous blindfold listening tests by Downbeat and  
other magazines have proven time and again that even the top musicians  
who have GREAT ears, cannot distinguish between black and white bands,  
or musicians in small groups, when they are subject to the tests.  
(Unless you have a distinctive sound like Monk)

Kinda of like the time I put rot gut Scotch in a Chivas Regal bottle  
and gave a drink on the rocks to a friend and self proclaimed "expert  
scotch drinker". He loved it, loudly proclaiming Chivas to  be the  
best. <grin>

The other caveat about black vs white bands is that the records do not  
accurately reflect what they were playing in live performance and so  
judgement based on records alone is usually faulty.


Cheers,
Steve