[Dixielandjazz] Mickey / Dixieland

[Stephen G Barbone]

> Rickz <rickz at usermail.com> wrote:
>
> When I was playing "society music" -- in Hotels, Dances, Parties, etc.
> -- in L.A.,
> in the 60's, we called it "Mickey".   I think that was a fairly common
> term at the time.
>
> Rick (Jolley) Zahniser
> Guitar/banjo/dobro/bass

Yes, a common term and still used. Below is a post about it from March  
2007. I think the term derived from "cartoon music" and Mickey Mouse:

2007 Post
We had this thread a while back and there proved to be some of us who  
think
Cartoon Music is a very unique and worthwhile style. Like some Movie  
Music.
Neither of those terms is pejorative the way we use them. And like  
Russ and
Jim and I think, it is very difficult music to play correctly and a  
tribute
to those who do so. Not unlike the difficulty of the Spike Jones Book.

Mickey music? Sometimes pejorative and sometimes not in the  
Philadelphia/NYC
area. Lester Lanin, Howard Lanin, Meyer Davis, were all described as
fronting Mickey Bands at one time or another, yet those who were good  
enough
to work in them, were quite happy to do so and earned a good living  
thereby.
In places like The White House, or at some other very upscale venues.

What was Mickey? Certainly not the several thousand songs one had to  
know,
by memory, or sometimes sight reading if they brought the charts.  
Certainly
not the songs themselves which were American Songbook and included all  
of
the Broadway Show tunes as well. Those bands prided themselves on  
being able
to play virtually  any request. The style itself may have been  
typified by
Guy Lombardo's two beat and famous ending but then, Louis Armstrong  
was a
great admirer of that band and who wants to argue with Pops' taste?

Many a jazz player kept the wolf from the door by working in these  
"Mickey"
Society Bands. One of the biggest problems with a working band these  
days is
that too few musicians know the book any more and when you work a gig  
that
begs for these tunes, you are darned lucky to be able to put a band  
together
that can play them.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone