[Dixielandjazz] Revivalist bands (was Tuba Skinny)

[Charles Suhor]

Stickin' to my story--I don't enjoy most revivalist OKOM bands, but those that are "swinging and full of original ideas" like TS are fun to hear. I love the foundational players of early jazz but find the OKOM "copyists" and some of the tuba & banjo bands plodding and awkward. I tend to enjoy today's "Dixieland" bands in the tradition of Muggsy, the Bobcats, Wild Bill, Bonano, etc. (Duke Heitger, Banu Gibson, etc.) although qualitative differences range widely there, too. 

It's a strange mix nowadays, in many places. At Preservation Hall a couple of years ago I heard a band with a bebopper on trumpet, role-playing Dixieland alongside a pianist who was reading the chords, an inept reedman, good mainstream trombonist, and a fine eclectic bassist and drummer. On Decatur St. at Palm Court, there was a band of versatile players doing good Dixieland. My best bet is to bring an open mind to any listening experience. Chances are good that I'll find something that's well worth the time and effort.

Charlie



On Feb 1, 2015, at 2:50 AM, Marek Boym wrote:

> Whether we like the idea or not, all the bands we hear nowadays a "revivalist bands" - the original traditional and swing musicians are long gone, at least - for the most part.  Only "revivalists" play OKOM.
> Tuba Skinny has a fine band, but there are plenty of other good bands around the world, some - slavish copyists (intentionally, too, and not ashamed to admit it), others - flowing, hard swinging and full of original ideas.  If we want to limit ourselves to non-revivalist bands only, we should restrict our listening to  old records, and perhaps avoid recordings in which older musicians played with younger ones (Hackett with Wilber, Jack Teagarden with Kenny Davern, Art Hodes with Jimmy Galloway, etc.).
> Cheers
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> On 1 February 2015 at 07:09, Charles Suhor <csuhor at zebra.net> wrote:
> You-all might be way ahead of me on this, but last year I came across the N.O. band Tuba Skinny, and I really like them. Their CD, OWL CALL BLUES, was named Best Traditional Jazz Release of the year by OFFBEAT magazine. I especially enjoyed the cornetist Shayne Cohn and vocalist/bass drummer Erika Lewis.  I don’t like most revivalist bands, but TS has a fresh approach to repertoire (like "Frisco Bound" on the link below), they do good head arrangements, and their solos aren’t stereotyped.
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> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAwqgx-dh0
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