[Dixielandjazz] Sitting in and jam sessions

[Robert Ringwald]

Mike Vax wrote regarding sitting in:



Ø  I am a bit surprised to hear Art and Bob both sort of "go off" on > sitting in and even about jam sessions.



Mike, I did not say anything about jam sessions. 



I said:



1.   I never ask to sit in on someone else’s gig. 

2.   I rarely let anyone sit in on my gigs unless they are of all-star quality, or unless I know them very well and know that they won’t interfere with what we are doing. 

3.   Most of what my band does is pretty well rehearsed and we don’t need a beginner or a not-so-good player sitting in and gumming up the works. Especially if we are getting paid to do a job. If so, we are not getting paid to have inferior musicians play with us. We are being hired because of who we are and how we play. 

I played music for a living, for too many years, 6 & 7 nights a week, lunch hours, cocktail hours, scrambling for every penny to support a wife and  3-kids, to want to go out and play for free. 



If I am there, it is to eat dinner, have a drink and listen to the band, not to listen to me play. 



Again, I said nothing about Jam sessions. 



--Bob Ringwald