[Dixielandjazz] All the Girls Go Crazy

[Stephen G Barbone]

On Oct 28, 2011, at 5:50 AM, Pat Ladd wrote:

> 'Pretty Mama Open Your Legs One More Time"
>
> Huh?.
>
> I would like to see the apologists who feel that they have to  
> explain the ethnic significance of  `Shine` to the audience before  
> they play it get behind that one.
>
> Anybody have the words.......?
>
> Cheers
> Pat

Dear Pat

Who need words? Improvise.

BTW, I assume you are talking about the way I present "Shine". Couple  
of corrections.  I am not neither an apologist  nor feel I have to  
explain the song before my band plays it.

I simply choose to explain it, first by poking fun at those ridiculous  
"shine your shoesies" lyrics that someone added to a song two decades  
or so after it was written and second by explaining what the original  
song meant to convey to the audience.

As you and others may know, many bands will not play this song in  
front of black audiences. My band is an exception. We adore playing  
it, singing it, and explaining it's parody and the idea that it may  
well be one of the first "protest" songs in jazz.

For us, it is an important comment about the link between social  
interaction and jazz both at the turn of the 20th century and now 100  
years later.

I see no harm in that and in fact, am rather proud of what we do with  
the song..

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband