[Dixielandjazz] Same solos

[Stephen G Barbone]

I think any jazz musician who works 6 nights a week for long periods  
of time, and/or like Louis, does 300 dates a year, is entitled to  
repeat solos or phrases he likes.

One of the most difficult jobs in the world was that of a jazz  
musician who works 6 hours a night week in and week out, and then  
records in the early morning hours. To expect fresh creativity all the  
time in the case of musicians who did that when gigs were plentiful,  
is simply not realistic.

I forget who said it, but it was a "working jazz musician" that said  
something like: "It is easier to find a new audience for jazz then to  
continually create something new musically for the existing fans"

Having worked 6 hours a night, 6 nights a week for only a 4 month  
stretch in my youth, I can attest to the fact that you become a jazz  
zombie by doing so. C,osest I came to that in my dotage was 4 nights a  
week for 15 months at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City a few years  
ago. It was difficult to be continually creative even for a hack like  
me who almost never plays a solo the same way twice.

And having seen Omer Simeon, a jazz GIANT, at Ryan's in  NYC over the  
course of several years, I can also attest to the fact that he was  
often on automatic pilot. Especially when the fans demanded the same  
tunes night after night. Like if he plays the same tunes 250 nights a  
year how can we expect him to "create" each time?

And then, of course, there are the fans who always expect to hear the  
clarinet solo on "High Society" played the exact same way Picou did  
and you can rest assured that Simeon did just that, looking bored out  
of his head all the while..

Not mention that Dixieland itself is a repetitive form of jazz. There  
are certain conventions that fans demand and if you do 't play it that  
way, they disrespect the player or band.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband