[Dixielandjazz] Thread-- Charlie Suhor's post "New Rules for Jazz Bands"--Charlie Suhor sums up

[Norman Vickers]

To: DJML and Musicians and Jazzfans list

From: Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

 

Charlie Suhor sums us.  Thanks Charlie.  Your moderator suggests that you
should be the last word on this and that we've more than adequately
discussed it.  Hence, your moderator further suggests that  midnight tonight
we'll put a moratorium on the Musicians and Jazzfans list.  As most DJML-ers
know, discussions can, and do on that list, go on ad infinitum!  (smile)

 

Charlie's other post about the International Association of Jazz Record
Collectors ( IAJRC) convention in New Orleans in September intrigues me.  He
has a talk about famous New Orleans strippers.  When I was a Medical
Resident in New Orleans ( Charity Hospital, Tulane Service---'59-'61) there
was an exotic  tassel dancer( 4 tassels-one on each breast and one on each
buttock) called "Alouette" who was part of the show at the 500 Club (
Address, 500 Bourbon Street). Al Hirt played there when he was in town.  She
always had the same show-she'd find some baldheaded guy sitting near the
stage-she'd lean down and dust off the top of his scalp with one of her
breast tassels.  The finale was having all four tassels twirling
simultaneously while she did the back-bend.

Understood that Alouette was a good Catholic girl with several kids;
consequently she didn't travel.  Always wondered what happened to her-did
the retire and live a quiet life thereafter?  Pete Fountain came back to New
Orleans about the time I moved there and I believe he played at the 500 Club
until he got his own club. Other good musicians passed through the 500 club.


Likely some New Orleans Jazz history buffs will clarify about the musicians
who passed through the 500 club.  Maybe someone knows the later history on
Alouette.  This would be welcome and interesting data.

 

From: Charles Suhor [mailto:csuhor at zebra.net] 
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2012 1:30 PM
To: Norman Vickers
Subject: Re: Thread-- Charlie Suhor's post "New Rules for Jazz Bands"--
various responses collated

 

Guess I stirred up some stuff beyond my expectattions. First, let me clarify
that, as Marek said, I wasn't putting down "What a Wonderful World" or
"Hello, Dolly" at all--but those are the two songs that are most often
called up for a Louis imitation. I've played both those songs enjoyably with
combos for decades. As for "Saints," I'm old enough (77 today) to remember
when it was just another tune in the band's repertoire and not "must
play...must march..." mandate. All three tunes are crowd-pleasers, but when
the Louis imitations start, if it's not outright insulting, as Bob Ringwald
suggests, it's discomfiting, at least to me. I suggested, only half
facetiously, that a musician might earn the privilege by not going for the
cheap applause but credibly imitating the Armstrong performance on "Hotter
Than That"--a true work of genius.

 

Charlie

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