[Dixielandjazz] Mike Vax's remarks

[Gary Lawrence Murphy]

lol ... fair enough, and yes, we're all in a Preservation Hall sort of
mode, only it's worse than that: not only can they not name a clarinet or a
sousaphone, but sadly all too many of them have never actually heard one,
ever, in their entire lives. And I'm talking about some of the parents too.
 Maybe passing by in a parade for 30 seconds, but even there, they probably
just saw and heard the shadow on TV.

For far too many people their only experience of music is as mediated by
electronics, sampled by transducers, equalized, compressed, enhanced,
bit-twiddled and filtered up through paper cones or worse, injected to the
eardrum directly by a vibrating crystal. In other words, even those who
think they only like acoustic music are in actual fact listening to heavily
processed *musique concrete*, they are electronic music fans.  Even at
their concerts, even at big band and jazz concerts! all they get is the
digital recreation of those point-source tranducer sampled waveforms
regurgitated into a semblance of a musical sound.  That's the part I find
particularly frightening.

It is frightening because they have grown dissatisfied with the sounds
before them in that market setting, dissatisfied with living music that
makes mistakes, isn't balanced perfectly and isn't chocked full of hip-hop
digital edit surprises and the hindsite perfection of spliced samples from
dozens of takes.  I got a DVD on how to do audio mastering for my home
studio, and it was shocking how the instructor spent 90% of his time in
that studio *carving* and arrangement out of what was essentially a flat
and dead boring highly repetitive and skill-less "top rated" radio-hit
maker band.  Even down to the dynamics of the high-hat, and splitting the
metronome guitar part into multiple filter channels to be chopped and diced
to *create* interest. "*Until it sounds like a record!"* the instructor
says triumphantly.

John Philip Sousa warned us this would happen if we didn't ban those *Infernal
Machines.*

So in that way I see our band as having that mission, to educate the ears
(and feet) of our audiences to the sound of a *real* brass band, so they
can grow up to seeing a 25' high clarinet in a 3D cinemax movie and quietly
say to their partner, "There used to be these kids back home who played
those at the Market ... it's called a 'clarinet'!" and maybe even add, "and
it has a magical sound that sounds like it's coming from everywhere!"

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 11:26 PM, ♫ Sharp Bill - - B# ♫ <A1tradtrmpt at att.net
> wrote:

>
> Mike -
>
> I wish the entire board of the Sacramento Jazz Society and other festivals
> would take note of your remarks.  Actually it's all the past boards of say
> the last 10 years  that should have taken notice, and not let the festival
> deteriorate into simply a musical festival, embracing multiple styles in
> order to, as you say, "sell more tickets".  What the Memorial Day festival
> evolved into is actually devolution, complete evolution in reverse.  Hope
> looms eternal:   I heard rumor at my last attendance at Sacramento's
> Traditional Jazz Society ( and they use the word "traditional" very
>  loosely) , is that there will be a Labor Day Truly Traditional Festival.
>  Should this rumor be true, I wholeheartedly applaud those responsible.
>
> Perhaps I gave the impression that I wanted bands to sound like clones of
> the 20's, 30's,40's.   It's just that I so much enjoy bands that play a
> whole lot of the traditional literature available because it's such great
> stuff,  using mostly the traditional instrumentations, which includes brass
> and woodwinds of all kinds. Include banjos and rhythm guitars whenever
> possible.  Set up a nice 2 or 4 beat, then go at it. I've played Lady
> Madonna (Beetles), On the Road Again (Willie Nelson) and Sentimental
> Journey with a disco beat for trad societies, but used the traditional
> 5-piece "dixieland" band to do it, and they "rock".
>
> What I believe in strongest is not letting go of the sound created with
> traditional instruments. I have played at Farmer's Markets with the
> standard 5 piece:   trumpet, trombone, tuba, clarinet, and banjo.  The
> people love it because it's happy music. ( I have a friend who plays
> contemporary jazz guitar who chides me and says,  "I can't play that.  It's
> way too happy for my blood".)  Here's the sad part of the market experience
>  - - -when I ask a passing 10 year old to name the instrument I'm pointing
> to (clarinet, or tuba) they can't identify it.  That's what I mean when I
> say that I feel like a person trying to preserve our musical heritage - - I
> mean playing the instruments so that kids of today and tomorrow know what
> they are, and what our particular configuration sounds like.
>
> Here's another thing that needs to take place at these festivals - - as
> musical director at our club I've made enemies operating on this principal
>  --do not invite bands that once might have been exciting, but have seen
> their day, yet some think that should be invited back because "they always
> have been".
>
> Also at the last Sacramento rent party I saw a new band, the Crescent Kats
> comprised of musicians between the ages of 17 and 25. Their band was so
> spectacular that they would have more audience attraction and attendance
> than 4 of the old guard bands.  If you want traditional flaming-torch-hot
> jazz, they were it.  They are going to be at the next festival, but were
> only given 2 sets.  Why? Because they are new.  That is an example of not
> staying in touch with what the crowds like.  And oh how the dancers will
> love them. Had I not filled up the year's calendar with very traditional,
> yet still exciting trad bands, I would have instantly booked the Crescent
> Kats for 2, maybe even 3 of our club dates.  Who's to say that you have to
> have a different band every month?  Back in the day, wouldn't excited
> jazzers go to see the same band perform the same songs night after night?
>  This group is that exciting. (Only two sets at the festival? )
>
> Bill ( watching-my-back) Sharp
>
>
> Some days you are the dog, some days the tree.
>
> There are two rules for success:
> 1.  Don't tell all you know.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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