[Dixielandjazz] Jazz camps, apprenticeships, "blasting"

[Charles Suhor]

For want of a better name, Jim, I’ve slapped on the subject line above. 

To comment a bit more on the posts, I want to acknowledge that not all of the street bands are “blasters.”—e.g.,  especially like some YouTube sets I’ve heard by Tuba Skinny. On site, on TV. and on other YouTube performances, though, I’ve heard some dreadful stuff. As one pro said (paraphrase) said, "You pick up an instrument, you learn a few riffs, and you go on tour.” 

Also, I’m sure that the jazz camps are on the whole doing valuable work and even starting out some players who go as competent jazzers. My main point was, that’s a very different thing from the jazz apprenticeship that youngsters with through in pre-rock days. The cultural context was the “instructional environment” in those days. That seems to exist in part New Orleans today, if the Sunpie Barnes book that Les cites (which I haven’t read) is an indicator. I can’t track that very well, since I’ve not lived in the city for years, though I've keep up bit with folks like Tom Jacobsen, who, sadly, died recently after moving to St. Louis.

There’s no use slobbering over changes (Tennyson: "O Death in Life, the days that are no more!”) but I think it’s interesting and useful to try to clarify and critique them from our many perspectives.

Charlie 


> On Jun 21, 2017, at 2:19 AM, jim at kashprod.com wrote:
> 
> 
> A very positive line of discussion has belatedly risen from a negative comment posted a few weeks ago with the original subject line showing "two comments".  Since this discussion has wonderfully morphed into a positive one, it is time to change the subject line to something else.
> 
> I already said my piece on supporting younger musicians so won't go any further about that.  Please try changing subjects, though, when the subject of posts actually change.
> 
> I found Charles' comment very interesting:   "many of the New Orleans street bands make a virtue of blasting away crudely, to the delight of tourists who think that noisy and harsh = quaint and authentic. 
> 
> I've wondered about that when browsing YouTube, and even when some street bands are shown on the news channels or in movies.  I've been away from the States for many years now, but "in my day" blatting was not the way anyone tried to play...in any style.  
> 
> 
> Jim
> 
> 
> 
> 
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