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

[Marek Boym]

On 26 June 2017 at 17:25, Steve Voce <stevevoce at virginmedia.com> wrote:

> 'Trad' was the commercial boom that came during the '50s when you didn't
> need much talent to get rich.
>
I know what YOU mean by "trad."  And British jazz critics of the day.  At
its worst, it sounded like banjo with instrumental accompaniment.  But
there were some fine bands, like your Merseys, or the Alan Elsdon's band I
repeatedly heard at the Jazzshows Jazz Club band in 1964.  And many many
others,  But to the general public, even bands like Welsh's and Randall's
were "trad."  Even a younger musician like Ken refers to them that way.
To confuse the issue, the term is now used in the States as well, referring
to the banjo and tuba bands, while the British ones usually had a double
bass.  Nit-picking and pigeonholing is not taking us anywhere,


> It was the age of 'gimmicks' - bowler hats etc.
>

Bowler hats and ridiculous waistcoats was what Acker's band wore,  I heard
many with no uniform.  The "gimmick" came at a later stage - in Poland his
band had "normal" attire (if I remember properly - it was over 60 years ago
- he wore a black shirt, while the others wore white).

> Chris Barber's1949 band was not trad and was in fact one of his most
> interesting. It had Ben Cohen on cornet (there were two cornets) and a good
> clarinet player).
>

The clarinet player in that band was Alex Revell.



> Chris didn't compromise, and although parallel to it, didn't play 'trad'.
>

Be it as it may, he was considered one of the great "Three B's of trad, as
reflected by several albums with that banner.

> Nor did Humph, of course. After Humph, Past Halcox was the outstanding
> trumpeter in that field. Chris was always an accomplished musician,  while
> the 'trad' fellows tended to learn on the job, as far as they were able to.
>

Perhaps.  But Elsdon went on to become one of the major figures of British
jazz, as did others.  Acker used the ridiculous 18th century outfit to the
end, which did not detract from his music.
Cheers

> Steve Voce
>
> On 26/06/2017 14:37, Marek Boym wrote:
>
> 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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