[Dixielandjazz] Israeli Jazz in NYC

[Stephen G Barbone]

Perhaps the reason there is no Trad, Classic or whatever we choose to  
call early jazz, in the israeli jazz program at the UN  and around NYC  
is the simple fact that there is no audience (OK, hardly any audience)  
for it these days. Plus the fact that there are precious few Israeli  
jazz musicians living in NYC who play, for want of a better word,  
Dixieland.

When discussing the Israeli jazz in NYC program we should note what is  
the goal. We might re-read what the Israeli Ambassador said about the  
program:

> "Jazz became the world?s music long ago," said Susan E. Rice, the  
> United
> States ambassador to the United Nations, in that organization's  
> General
> Assembly hall on Monday night. "There is by now a rich tradition of  
> Nordic
> jazz. There's South Asian jazz, there's Russian jazz and Chinese  
> jazz."

and what the article added:

> and if her quick catalog left out Israeli jazz, that was
> probably just as well: no need to state the obvious. Over the last  
> 15 years,
> Israel has produced and exported so many serious young musicians  
> that the
> jazz landscape is hard to picture without their influence,  
> particularly in
> New York and especially now.

Since this festival includes lots of local Jewish and some Israeli  
musicians, who would be there in NYC to play Dixieland? Woodie Allen?  
Let's not forget that many on this list consider his music an  
embarrassment to jazz. My point is simple, It is an ISRAELI Jazz  
Festival. With Israeli and/or Jewish musicians. Just a couple actually  
from Israel and most from NYC. So guess what? Like most jazz musicians  
around the world, they are not playing Dixieland. And, as jazz  
musicians, they have an inherent right to play what they damn please.

We have two choices in my view.

#1 Continue being defensive about OKOM and how it is ignored. Are we  
thereby going to change the facts of musical life by continually  
moaning about it and/or the general public's poor musical tastes? I  
don't think so. We've been doing that for years despite the classic  
the definition of insanity:  Doing the same thing over and over again  
with the expectation that the result will change.

#2 Do something about OKOM. By that I mean get pro-active in bringing  
it to the people. Update the genre like some of those young bands are  
doing.

No OKOM at the UN or in NYC within the Israeli Jazz Program? "Tough  
Noogies" as the late Bill Gunter might have said. Get over it.

As an aside:  Why not August 4 for International jazz day? Because  
that date though Louis Armstrong's birthday, does not fall with April  
which has been "Jazz Appreciation Month"  for a while now. Plus the  
fact that Louis, great as he was, did not invent jazz, Bechet was an  
earlier and some say better,soloist, and a whole host of other folks  
have made other significant contributions to jazz. Let's honor them all.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband