[Dixielandjazz] Tram

[Charles Suhor]

On Apr 26, 2015, at 4:52 PM, ROBERT R. CALDER wrote:

> To complain that Tram showed little evidence of that kind of invention is to forget the limits of opportunity, just as a lot of musicians who played solos that were long and not too long, tended to simplify in some aspects earlier conceptions of the instruments. 
> 

To state that Tram wasn't as fertile or adventurous an improvisor as Bix is not to "complain" about him or suggest that he wasn't an important figure in jazz history or to deny his (and others') expanding the roles of their instruments. I repeat (and it's only an opinion, of course): Tram wasn't as fertile or adventurous an improvisor as Bix. If every player had to be a Giant of Jazz, my record collection would be pared down to a few artists, if I could indeed identify the Giants. There's good stuff all around, but it's also useful to exchange ideas about the contributions of many jazz artists.

Charlie