[Dixielandjazz] Gene, Dukes of Dixieland

[Charles Suhor]

Jim, Gene, and all— 

When the Dukes began as teenagers in N.O. (with Pete Fountain), they were the Junior Dixieland Band; won the 1949 Horace Heidt radio show competition, and became sorta famous. They went pro under the name of the Dukes of Dixieland in open homage to Sharkey Bonano's Kings of Dixieland, the hottest group in the city's postwar revival. Fred Assunto was a virtual clone of Santo Pecora, Sharkey's trombonist. Pete was called "little Faz" because he was patterned after Irving Fazola, though Lester Bouchon was Sharkey's clarinetist. Lots of potential, all around.

Now for the controversial part. The band originally wanted to be a straight-ahead Dixieland group but they changes course.They were heard in Las Vegas by Sid Frey, an early champion of the new stereophonic recordings. In a 1970 interview for New Orleans magazine, Frank told me, "I didn't want to record for Audio-Fidelity because I had never heard of them. I kept fighting with Sid Frey so bad about the album that I was really mad when we went to the session. We asked for ridiculous money and got it. I said 'This guy is really a stupid bird. If he's willing to pay that kind of money for a jazz band, then let's give him what he thinks he's going to get…oom-cha, oom-cha…let's tuba and banjo him to death.' And that's what we did—and we built a monster."  As the first jazz group to record in stereo they were catapulted to national fame. Ironies galore. The Junior band wasn't ready for prime time and were maturing during four years at the Famous Door. But they lost the admiration of critics and many jazz fans, and their own self-esteem, as Frank suggested, when they leaned into razzmatazz. I confess that I also tuned out for many years, but when I heard Frank's group in N.O. in 1970, the masquerade was over—Don Ewll on piano, Freddie Kohlman, drums; Rudy Aikels. bass; Harold Cooper, clarinet; Charlie Bornean, trombone. Fine, fine jazz.

Many loved the band's music in all its incarnations, but I thought that Frank's reflections were revealing and wanted to pass them on.

Charles

> On Aug 30, 2018, at 10:26 AM, Jim Kashishian <jim at kashprod.com <mailto:jim at kashprod.com>> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Gene and all.  Your short bio caught my eye because of your mention of the Dukes.  Although I began listening to Turk, et al, in the mid 1950s, I soon got interested in the Dukes.  Something, by the way, that is not always accepted as being a good thing in Jazz circles, and even on this list.  To this day, I maintain that, even though they became a a success (for some reason that is not acceptable!), they did play some hot jazz.  I heard them in a casino lounge in Las Vegas in about 1963.  A basically empty room, and they played as though it were a full house!  A lesson that I have carried with me through my whole musical life.  Hats off to the Dukes!  (Now I'll duck in case of flying objects!!)
> 
> Oh, I continued to listen to Turk, and many, many others, but was drawn to the Dukes possibly because my trombone style was closer to the style of the Dukes.  
> 
> Jim
> 
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