[Dixielandjazz] Austin Jazz Opportunities

[Dave Stoddard]

Marek wrote:

Hello Daniel,
Having read your email I have no idea what are you talking about.
Perhaps you could be more specific?  Or provide a you Tube link?

Cheers,
Marek,Israel

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Marek:

What Dan meant was that in Austin as elsewhere there are not many clubs booking six-piece dixieland bands.  There are lots of smaller traditional jazz ensembles working the area, however.  Back in the day (or perhaps even today) they might be classified as novelty groups, but they play old tunes and offer a lot of hot jazz.

I play tuba and valve trombone, and have worked a lot of quartet gigs at Austin-area restaurants.  They are fun, and I get to play pretty much the same jazz that I would in a larger group.  In fact, smaller groups offer more freedom, more room to roam.  In a quartet, I almost never play with a trombone when I am on tuba, so I can play middle and even upper register without stomping on someone else's ensemble line.  When I book my Silver Creek Jazz Band as a quartet, I almost always play tuba with a guitar, cornet and clarinet.

>From a listener's point of view, as long as you don't mind smaller groups, you can find some form of traditional jazz in Austin pretty much seven days a week.  Hunt hard enough and you can find larger bands some of those days (Chaparral Dixielanders, East Side Dandies, Copa Kings, Jazz Pharaohs).

Here's a YouTube URL for Hot Club Soda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_eTQWCgCVg

Here's one for Erik Hokkanen and the Hip Replacements: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0u-c8IZoOc

A YouTube search for some of the other groups will turn some of them up.

I hope this clears things up a little.

Regards,
Dave Stoddard
Round Rock, TX