[Dixielandjazz] Ghost Bands - EARS.

[Paul Edgerton]

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 11:52 AM, Stephen G Barbone
<barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Speaking about how ghost bands seldom duplicate the original you can test
> how good your ears are in determining an improvised solo, and a duplicate of
> that improvised solo by someone else reading the music.

When I was a kid, I eagerly awaited each new installment of the
Time/Life Swing Era series. My father would play a cut and the ask me,
"Who was that?" and I would answer "Artie Shaw," or "Benny Goodman" or
perhaps "Woody Herman." Of course it was actually the late Abe Most,
who did a fantastic job not only playing the notes of the original
solo, but also some of the personal style of each artist.

The same was true for every instrument. Those records were created by
guys who really knew the style, often because they worked with the
original artists. OK, these weren't typical ghost bands, and even an
attentive youngster can hear the difference between the TL series and
the original recordings. But they represent the high-water mark in
recreating a variety of performer's work, and to me, they stand on
their own merits as great art.