[Dixielandjazz] Forrie Cairns and Cy (was Wally Fawkes Birthday)

[Marek Boym]

Forrie Cairns is not sufficiently well known  I have a Clyde Valley CD, but
nevertheless have no real opinion on Cairns.
As to Steve's comment re. "Trad" - aren't we pigeonholing too much?  When
did "Trad" start?  Was the 1949 Barber trad (the name had not yet been
used)?  And George Webb?
Cheers

On 26 June 2017 at 01:25, Ken Mathieson <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
wrote:

> Hi All,
> I'm not taking sides in the Cy Laurie stand-off, nor indulging in lists
> pointless or otherwise, but the absence of one name from this thread has
> been conspicuous: Forrie Cairns. He's retired from playing now, but still
> to the fore in Edinburgh, having spent most of his career in London and
> Zurich. His pro career involved playing with the Clyde Valley Stompers
> before leading his own Clansmen until trad jazz slipped off the radar of
> most of the British public. He had a spell of free-lancing around London
> before moving to Switzerland, where he was based for many years working
> with Bob Wallis as well as the Picadilly Six. He returned to Scotland about
> 20 years ago, settling in Edinburgh and still playing as forcefully and
> inventively as ever until his retirement for health reasons recently.
>
> Forrie was recognised by Sandy Brown in The McJazz Manuscripts as giving
> "...Sandy cause for concern on the occasions they occupied the same
> bandstand." And "...Forrie made him more uncomfortable than anyone except
> Tony Coe." And "...given the freewheeling , uncommitted atmosphere of
> Sandy's band Forrie could have been unbeatable: he was never provided that
> climate, and was consequently under-rated." Sandy described Forrie's
> playing as being a "fierce amalgam of a number of New Orleans originals,
> notably Ed Hall..." There were certainly traces of Ed Hall in his sound,
> but his improvisations always struck me as unlike anyone else's due to
> their unpredictability. He was always a delight to play with as ideas just
> bubbled out of him and his rhythmic attack, swing and intensity were often
> fierce, but he could play with great sensitivity when the material called
> for it.
>
> It's a great pity that he's not better represented on recordings, but you
> can catch him here along with some other fine local players on the Scottish
> scene:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5PVwxmtJ5s
>
> Cheers,
> Ken
>
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