[Dixielandjazz] Doom-sayer

[Roy Taylor]

I have been listening to another ideom of past music on the public radio
Saturday mornings. This a show called Folk Alley.  The performances have
been recently recorded at festivals thoughout America and feature some
really talented young people.  I also noticed one other main thing:  most
of the music is NOT the traditional folk music we grew up with and
resurrected by the likes of Bob Dillon, Arlo Guthrie, the Weavers, and the
Kingston Trio (to name a few), but they write their own music and none of
it is familiar to me.  It is beautiful, but I miss the old folk songs.

Dixieland has not had the same resurgence of style with new music being
written and to some degree is hampered by the copyright laws being enforced
by ASCAP.  The 75 year conversion to public domain stalled out (as I
understand it) with tunes written before 1923.  Consequently, there is a
least one additional expense to be paid on public gigs that gain any
significant publicity to draw a crowd.  Yet this is the music that pleases
us and our followers for it reminds us the fun days now past.  New
musicians capable of learning dixieland are no longer being exposed to the
old songs unless the remaining veteran musicians recruit them and teach the
style.  There is a handful of excellent musicians who reach the airways and
stages, but not the groundswell that I experienced as a youth in the 1960s
and 70s.

I would not say a new resurgence is impossible for the early recordings are
available in much higher sound fidelity that we learned from, and music
schools like the Eastman School teach the underlying music theory and do
pay homage to The Great American Songbook. However, music students must be
multi-disciplined in a large range of ideoms to make a career successful
enough to pay for their training and may just not land a gig that leads
them to totally embrace Dixieland.


On Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 10:03 AM, Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Bob,
>
>
>
> >
> >
> >
> > What I've always known would happen, is happening now- at least in the
> > USA. The remaining few players of live OKOM are rapidly aging, as are
> their
> > audiences.
>
>
> >From time to time US listmates send links to videos by young American OKOM
> bands, such as Tuba Skinny.  This year a young American traditional band
> led by E,ily Asher on trombone played here in Israel.  So even in the US
> things are not as gloomy as you paint them.  OK, there are no young dyed in
> the wool fans who'd subscribe to the Dixie Flyer, but there are  young
> players and young audiences.  Perhaps not of the very mouldy variety, but
> they still listen and dance to traditional jazz.  Our ex-listmate Steve
> BArbone often plays for young audiences.  Swing dancers dance to OKOM even
> in th US.
>
>
>
>
> > I'm sure all of you in the USA know this. I think we must recognize that
> > our kind of music has not caught on with the younger generations, and
> that
> > we will see live hot jazz disappear into the sunset, probably within the
> > next ten years.
>
>
> As long as there are young players, and there are, there will be young
> audiences, even if the world is no longer jazz crazy.  In ten years the
> musicians I've mentioned will be in their thirties of forties, so you
> haven't that much to worry about.
>
>
> > I, for one, do not see this as a disaster, but only as our failure to
> have
> > gotten our kids interested and for not providing opportunities for Black
> > players to make a living.
>
>
> Some players in the young American  bands are black.  On the other hand,
> the revival was a white phenomenon; it might have provided work for blac
> musicians, but did not attract black audiences.
>
>
>
> >
> >
> > The President's column suggests that we could attract a new set of
> members
> > by offering swing dancing - and conjectures that they might be converted
> to
> > righteous music.
> >
> >
> > Through 19 "Serenades for Mouldy Figges" (see my book, "The World in a
> > Jug"), I have been trying make conversions. I assure you, it can't be
> done!
>
>
> "Can't be done."   How do you know?  You have tried and failed, but don't
> forget that the previous revival thrived on dancers.
>
>
>  I don't see any hope of a 'revival' such as occurred in the 40s and 50s.
>
>
>
> YOu may be right (I was too young the, anyway), but nobody saw it coming
> before it occurred.
>
>
> > SO my fellow Americans and Canadian friends, dust off your victrolas and
> > retain your memories. I remember Greenwich Village and 52nd St. after the
> > war, when there were over 10 venues that featured OKOM 6 nights a week
> from
> > 9pm to 4am,
>
>
> When I look at jazz in New York, there is much more OKOM there now than
> there was in 1996, my last visit there.  Not necessarily the Yerba Buena
> variety, but traditional nevertheless.
>
>
> > with an equal number of Black and White musicians.  Those were the glory
> > days!
> >
>
> You Americans are so colour conscious!
>
> Age gracefully,
> >
>
> Gracefully?  How about the fun?  A good friend of mine, quite a few years
> older, has just told me she was aging disgracefully and enjoying every
> minute of it!  I'm with her (not physically - she lives in the south of
> England), not with you.
>
> Cheers
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
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> >
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-- 
Roy (Bud) Taylor
Smugtown Stompers Jazz Band
Rochester, New York
Traditional Jazz since 1958
"we ain't just whistling dixie!"