[Dixielandjazz] Condoning

[Marek Boym]

"Lack of awareness" is a tricky business, Robert.
Perhaps some musicians indeed lack it, but how about the audience?  An old
friend of mine (we've known each other for some 50 years) has given all his
Condons away because "he cannot stand all that Dixieland anymore."  This
includes the "Coast to Coast Jam Session" and "Bixieland," arguably the
best post-'50 Condonia.  This, I am afraid, disqualifies him as one who
"has never even heard of these men."
He has been listening to jazz since times immemorial,and has a vast
collection of records, many yours truly does not consider even akin to jazz
(not mentioning names this time - I do not wish to ignite another lengthy
OT debate), lots of swing (BG, Basie, Artie Shaw, you name them).  And he
just loves New Orleans (George Lewis, Kid Thomas) and Turk Murphy!
And another point: there were at least two British bands which played the
Condon type of jazz: Alex Welsh's and Freddy Randall's.  MIck Mulligan,
two, refrained from using banjos for quite some time.  To think of it, most
well known British bands have never used tubas, even though there are some
that do.
Cheers


On 23 May 2015 at 13:49, ROBERT R. CALDER <serapion at btinternet.com> wrote:

> As regards the query about preference of banjo-tuba, this might reflect
> the lack of awareness among the people playing the instruments. And I don't
> just mean the tuba-ist and banjoist...  Long ago a heavyweight US band came
> to Edinburgh, gentlemen of a certain avoirdupoids all looking like retired
> army ossifers (officers ossified) with the exception of a very young tuba
> player, musically worth the rest of them put together. But he was like the
> people Dick Hyman remembered before he heard European musicians of the
> banjo-tuba or even Condonian varieties. Dud repertoire albeit with Saints
> present -- Hyman was startled by the non-hackneyed repertoire in Europe.
> Perhaps you need to have Messrs. Stacy and Freeman etc. to play vigorously
> Condonite music --but it does not help mortals who might or might not be
> lesser but have never even heard of these men.
> They call it Dixieland when it isn't. Probably they get it right in not
> calling some music jazz.
> Perhaps they neither flat nor sink enough fifths ?
> Robert R. Calder
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